


Strawberry Clouds

by Cat_o_pawtra



Category: BnHA, KatsuDeku - Fandom, mha, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Fluffy, I promise, Izuku is a Barista, KatsuDeku, Katsuki is a pro skateboarder, M/M, Maybe some angst depending on what I decide on~, No quirks Au, dorky love, enjoy~, happy fluffy ending, skateboards and coffee~
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2018-08-11 19:03:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 36,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7904095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat_o_pawtra/pseuds/Cat_o_pawtra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a beautiful day in late summer, Izuku Midoriya accidentally collides with a certain ash blonde skateboarder named Katsuki Bakugou and breaks the prized skateboard. Between juggling his part time job, school and the ill health of his mother, Izuku promises to get Katsuki a new board before the month is out. </p><p>A cute fluffy, dorky love between Katsuki and Izuku~<br/>Milkshakes, coffee, skateboards and more~<br/>Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Collision of fate

**Author's Note:**

> Heyaaa~  
> This is the first chapter of Strawberry Clouds, a fluffy katsudeku fanfic about milkshakes and skateboards  
> Please enjoy~

It was a beautiful day out, the kind you only really find in slice of life animes. A small breeze had begun to cool down the heat of a late summer’s afternoon and Tokyo was buzzing with life. It was the perfect day to be outside and it also happened to be Izuku’s first day off work in a while. Maybe fate demanded his perfect day be ruined as he was chasing down a Charmeleon and was almost run over by a skateboarder, or maybe fate had something else in mind.  
  
“The fuck is wrong with you?!” the ash blonde skateboarder, who had just barely managed to swerve out of the way and avoid colliding head on with Izuku, snapped as he crawled to his feet.  
  
“I-I’m really sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was go...oh my god you’re bleeding. I am so, so sorry.” Izuku apologized frantically and shoved his hand into his pocket, trying to find a band-aid. Dammit he was sure he had some on him somewhere.  
  
“Yeah no fucking shit.” the ash blonde retorted as he picked up his skateboard and a piece of it remained behind on the ground. A cold shudder ran down Izuku’s spine as a heavy silence settled in over the other.  
  
“Crap, this is my fault I am so sorry, is there any way I can make it up to you? I can shout you a drink or a coffee or somethi-!” Izuku babbled alarmed and before he could finish his sentence, the ash blonde teen replied almost too calmly,  
  
“You can buy me a new fucking skateboard, that’s what.”  
  
“I-eh what?” Izuku replied confused, wishing he had misheard him, but he knew he hadn’t. The ash blonde male thrust his broken skateboard hard against Izuku’s chest, briefly knocking the wind from his lungs.  
  
“The regionals are in a month. I better have the same skateboard by then or you’re going to regret the day you were born.” he told Izuku threateningly and the green-haired teen could merely nod. How could his perfect day have gone so terribly, terribly wrong? Amongst all the school fees and the rent for his apartment, not to mention the medication for his mom and basic provisions, he wasn’t sure he could afford to buy this person a new skateboard.  
  
“What the fuck are you muttering?!” the ash blonde snapped at him and Izuku flinched, an embarrassed flush heating up his cheeks.  
  
“A-ah I’m sorry it’s a stupid habit.” he replied hastily and then he lowered his gaze, trying to avoid the piercing, red eyes staring at him, “I um...I’ll try to get you a new skateboard...I just can’t promise anything...” he added quietly. That did it.  
  
“The fuck did you say?!” the ash blonde yelled and grabbed Izuku by his shirt roughly and the freckled teen accidentally dropped the broken skateboard onto the ground. He flinched away and squeezed his eyes shut as the ash blonde raised his fist threateningly.  
  
“Whoa, Katsuki, you can’t just punch him, man.” a spiky-haired stranger said suddenly and Izuku felt the ash blonde halt.  
  
“Shut the hell up Eijirou. He broke my fucking board!” Katsuki spat, making the other flinch away as the fist intended for Izuku was swung at Eijirou.  
  
“It was an accident, he said he’d get you a new one, didn’t he?” Eijirou asked as he dodged, obviously used to the ash blonde’s temper. Katsuki turned to Izuku sharply, his glare burning through the freckled teen like fire and it made him feel unbelievably small and weak. Izuku wasn’t strong, he would laugh at anyone who called him that, and he wasn’t brave either but...  
  
“I never lie.” Izuku told Katsuki quietly, again avoiding his eyes as he stared down at the fist still firmly holding onto the fabric of his shirt. He heard the other click his tongue and then almost reluctantly, Izuku was freed from the iron grip. A little shaken, the freckled teen brushed out the crinkle left behind, his fingers trembling ever so slightly as he took a step away from Katsuki. Just in case.  
  
“I-I’ll get you a new skateboard...I just...” he broke off, squirming awkwardly. The last thing he wanted to do was push his problems onto this stranger. It was his fault the board broke, there was no doubt about that...but a month? How much do skateboards even cost?  
  
“You just what?!” Katsuki demanded to know and Izuku shrank into himself again, lifting his hands protectively and whimpered,  
  
“I’m really sorry. Here, uh, Katsuki...” as he fished out a scrap piece of paper from his pocket and scribbled his name and phone number on it, “I’ll um see to it that you get a new skateboard, just please don’t hit me.” he squeaked as he held out the paper along with some band-aids. He opened his eyes a crack, daring to peek at the ash blonde teen in front of him. He’d lowered his fist now and stared down at the piece of paper,  
  
“Midoriya Deku?” he said slowly, reading the name on the paper and then he sneered, “Deku, fits you just fine you fucking nerd.”  
  
“It’s um...it’s actually Izuku.” the freckled teen corrected quietly, unsure of what to say about the insult. The last thing he wanted was to give the other a reason to punch him. Katsuki glanced up at him as he snatched the paper and buried it in the pocket of his baggy cargo pants.  
  
“Deku is a fucking weird ass name, what the fuck is wrong with your parents?” he asked harshly and Izuku felt rage burning up inside him. What the hell did he know about his parents?!  
  
“It’s Izuku.” he corrected again, a little louder this time and the glare he received immediately silenced him. Maybe it would be better to leave before he does actually get his face punched in just because he couldn’t keep himself from running his mouth.  
  
“I um...It’s getting late and I have work tomorrow so...uh...” he stammered, digging for his phone in his pocket. 1%. Of course he just had to leave the app open.  
“Is that...?!” Katsuki began as he spied Izuku’s phone. Izuku flinched away, closing the app faster than the speed of light, but the ash blonde had already seen enough, an angry scowl making its way onto his features. Izuku had to leave right now.  
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing!” Izuku yelled frantically, catching Katsuki and Eijirou off guard, “I-I have to go.”  
  
He had never run home so fast in his entire life. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

How could his perfect day off have taken such an awful turn of events. He couldn’t pay for a new skateboard even if he took up a bunch more shifts at work he would still not be able to pay for the damage. How the hell was he supposed to know Katsuki Bakugou was a favourite in the upcoming skateboard regionals? Yes that was a thing and yes that skateboard of his was worth a hell of a lot more than a normal one.  
“Izuku~!” a familiar voice chimed in his ear and he almost dropped the cup he was filling with coffee, “You’re scaring the customers cut it out.”  
  
“I’m sorry Ochaco.” he replied embarrassed, and shot the girl an awkward smile. Her head tilted sidewards a little and her fantastically big eyes narrowed at him,  
  
“You have a lot of explaining to do on our break.” she said slowly and Izuku shrank into himself as he maneuvered a plastic lid onto the full cup. He laughed nervously and after he handed the customer their coffee he replied,  
  
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. Everything is fine, I have nothing to explain.”  
  
“Uh huh.” she replied, her eyes merely narrowing and Izuku knew he couldn’t get out of this one even if he tried. He sighed defeated and took the next order, promising to tell her when their shift was over.  
  
“Huh? Are you not taking a break?” Ochaco asked surprised and Izuku shot her an apologetic smile and told her quietly,  
  
“Yeah, I’m going to be working a little more.”  
  
“Are you serious? You practically work every day as soon as you finish school are you going to be okay?” she asked alarmed and Izuku merely shrugged. He didn’t know if he was going to be okay. He would find out soon enough.  
  
Suddenly the door of the small coffee shop he worked at was thrown open and a gut wrenchingly familiar ash blonde walked through the door. Izuku’s heart stopped. Why. Why did this have to happen to him. What had he done to deserve this?  
  
Ochaco noticed his distress and gently pushed him towards the back door, whispering for him to take a break, but Izuku shook his head wildly. He didn’t have time for this, he needed the money, so he broke free from her hold and firmly walked back to the counter, putting on his best, most professional smile as he greeted the skateboarders,  
  
“Welcome to the Catnap Cafe what can I get for you?”  
  
“A fucking chocolate milkshake to go.” the ash blonde replied as he turned around and his red eyes met green ones. Katsuki frowned for a moment and then he sneered,  
  
“You look irritatingly familiar to the fuckface who broke my skateboard.”


	2. ¥367 and a little bit of kindness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katsuki keeps finding himself back at the cafe Izuku works at, apparently keeping an eye on the freckled teen to make sure he gets Katsuki a new skateboard~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 of Starwberry Clouds!  
> Thank you for all the kudos and comments~ I'm so glad everyone is enjoying it  
> 

“You look irritatingly similar to the fuckface who broke my skateboard.”  
  
“I...uhm...” Izuku began, unsure of what to say next. Had this guy really forgotten what he looked like already? His friends always told him he looked different in his work uniform, but to this extent?  
  
“Izuku has a twin.” Ochaco said from behind the freckled teen and slid Katsuki’s chocolate milkshake over the counter, “That’ll be ¥367 please.”  
  
Izuku shrank into himself alarmed. Ochaco could lie well, but what use was it if Katsuki already knew his name? At that moment Eijirou entered the cafe and as he spied the freckled boy behind the counter, he greeted him cheerfully,  
  
“What’s up Izuku, I didn’t know you worked here. Busily saving up I assume?”  
  
Both Izuku and Ochaco went pale, all colour draining from their faces. The lie was exposed. Katsuki halted his search for coins and looked up at Izuku again. He’d known the girl was lying. He wouldn’t be able to forget that name anywhere. Even his name tag read ‘Deku’.  
  
A chill ran down Izuku’s spine as red eyes bore through him, but Katsuki remained terrifyingly silent. Instead he fished out ¥367 and slammed it onto the counter, frightening everyone in the small cafe. As he went to take his milkshake, he grabbed Izuku by his black shirt and pulled him towards him forcefully,  
  
“Don’t forget your promise you fucking nerd or I’ll make sure you’ll never be able to make one ever again.” Then he let go and walked out of the shop.  
  
“What’s his deal?” Ochaco asked Eijirou crossly as she helped Izuku stand upright. In all fairness, her knees were shaking just as much as Izuku’s, but if she wasn’t there for him, then who would be?  
  
“I’m sorry about him, he has a very short fuse and your friend here accidentally broke Katsuki’s lucky skateboard yesterday.” Eijirou explained as he pulled out his wallet to order a drink, “Katsuki is still pretty mad about that...but he’s really not a bad person once you get to know him.”  
  
“Is that why you’re going to work overtime?” Ochaco asked Izuku as he straightened out, holding onto his bruised stomach,  
  
“Yeah...I-I have to get him a new skateboard.” he replied quietly as he took Eijirou’s order and Ochaco stood silently beside him, watching as he made a coffee.  
  
“You’re going to work yourself to death. You can’t do this.” she said after a while. Izuku shot her a small smile as he gave Eijirou his coffee and replied,  
  
“I’ll be alright. It was my fault entirely and I’m willing to make up for it. If he needs that skateboard I broke to follow his dream, then I’ll be the last person to deny him that.”  
  
“Whoa man, you’re an amazing person.” Eijirou cut in as he paid, regarding Izuku with newly found respect. Izuku blushed embarrassed and shook his head wildly,  
  
“N-No not at all.I just...really admire a strong will to chase a dream. I don’t really know Katsuki...but...he seems like that kind of person to be and if he can’t reach his dream just because I got in the way, I would never be able to forgive myself, you know?” he babbled, his face turning redder with every word he spoke. How stupid he must have sounded to the others then. Hell, he sounded stupid to himself. Thank god the cafe was always quiet at this time of day.  
  
“Well, uh...enjoy your day then!” Eijirou said after a heavy silence had fallen over them. Izuku forced a small smile and Ochaco waved as he took his drink and left.  
  
“My heart can’t take this.” Izuku mumbled as he backed against the counter to support himself. Dealing with Katsuki had proven to be horribly exhausting and he almost wished he’d run away yesterday. Still...he had meant what he’d said about Katsuki’s dream. He knew how frustrating it was to be denied of everything you’ve ever hoped for.  
  
“Is this what you’re going to tell me?” Ochaco asked after a while, still staring at the door. Izuku nodded, unable to get himself to speak. Ochaco was silent again, but then she turned around to him, a sympathetic smile on her lips,  
  
“Do you need some money? I could lend you some and-?” she began, but Izuku shook his head and replied with a smile of his own,  
  
“Thank you, but no thank you. The last thing I want is to push my problems onto other people.”  
  
“You always say that. Think of yourself for once!” the girl snapped at him and Izuku stared at her frightened. Quietly she apologised and turned to wipe down the counter. Silence descended upon them once more until finally,  
“But your mom...don’t you...what about her medicine?” Ochaco asked quietly and Izuku smiled again.  
  
“She’s been doing much better lately. It’ll be okay.” he replied just as some customers entered the shop. He placed his hand on her arm for a moment and then walked to the counter with a professional smile,  
  
“Welcome to the Catnap Cafe, what can I get for you?”

\---------------------------------------------------

“You’ve been coming here an awful lot lately.” Ochaco remarked as she made the usual chocolate milkshake, her brow furrowed suspiciously.  
  
“Shut the fuck up. This place is close to the skate park and that’s all there is to it.” a certain ash blonde hissed sourly as he leaned against the counter, glancing around the small cafe.  
  
“Uh huh.” Ochaco replied flatly and Katsuki shot her an angry glare.  
  
“Where’s that useless nerd anyway?” he asked instead and a mischievous grin etched itself into Ochaco’s features as she leaned over the counter,  
  
“Why do you want to know? Fallen for him already?” she asked and Katsuki spun around irritatedly, about to tell her to ‘Go jump off a fucking bridge.’ because ‘who the fuck would fall in love with that dipshit? That's just wrong.’ when Izuku stumbled into the shop.  
  
“Izuku?!” Ochaco gasped alarmed as he shuffled past her, “You look awful, what happened?”  
  
“Oh, just stayed up studying that’s all. I’m alright.” the freckled teen replied, forcing a smile onto his lips. Never before had Katsuki seen something so out of place than that smile. It felt wrong. How could he smile when he could barely keep his eyes open?  
  
“What are you doing? You don’t have to pay for that. Izuku, no wait don’t-!” Ochaco babbled frantically as Izuku fished out some coins to buy himself a coffee, but he couldn’t hear her through his sleep induced haze.  
  
“Oi, Deku, fucking listen when someone is talking to you!” Katsuki snapped loudly and Izuku shrank into himself surprised, the coins falling to the floor beside him.  
  
“Oh, sorry I didn’t know you were here. Hello.” Izuku greeted him quietly as he looked at the ash blonde briefly and then proceeded to pick the fallen coins off the floor. He needed a strong coffee fast.  
  
“What the fuck?” Katsuki breathed stunned, not because Izuku hadn’t noticed him, but because his eyes, his beautiful green eyes, the eyes Katsuki hadn’t (irritatingly enough) been able to forget since the skateboard incident, the eyes that had unwillingly brought Katsuki back here every single day because he couldn’t believe they were real...those eyes were dull and lifeless.  
  
Before he could stop himself, Katsuki pulled out a couple of coins along with the usual ¥367 for his milkshake and slammed them onto the counter, scaring Ochaco and Izuku half to death.  
  
“Here, use this to pay for your coffee. Remember, you only have 3 weeks left.” then he took his milkshake and left, leaving the two of them in a state of utter shock and confusion.  
  
“I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be mad at him for pressuring you or not.” Ochaco mumbled as she gathered up the money and gently pealed Izuku away from the register, giving him back his own money. She was right though, Izuku didn’t really know what to make of that either. He was going to sort that out later. First he needed a coffee or he was actually going to fall asleep.  
  
As he made himself a cappuccino, he couldn’t help but smile at Katsuki’s little gesture of kindness, even if it was masked in that explosive personality of his. Maybe Katsuki wasn’t all bad.


	3. I want to say sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and the kudos too~  
>   
>   
> Chapter 3 is longer because I felt the need to make it clear that yes this is a toothrottingly fluffy fic and no I won't be doing much more angst than this I promise.  
> Next chapter comes out on Monday~~  
> Enjoy!

It’s been about two weeks since Izuku had accidentally broken Katsuki Bakugou’s prized skateboard and a lot has happened since then, but Izuku was no closer to buying Katsuki a new one than what he had been at the time of the collision and time was running out.  
  
School and life kept getting in the way and Izuku’s savings were burning up, despite him working until 10pm every day. That too, had taken a toll on him. His grades were dropping and his mental health was in shambles, but the last thing he wanted was to stand in Katsuki’s way.  
  
Just like every day, he was on his way to work, his eyes barely able to stay open. He shook his head stubbornly and lifted his gaze just as he passed the skate park and unwillingly, he searched for the spiky ash blonde hair he’d come to see almost every day. But he couldn’t find it amongst the skaters and Izuku wondered if maybe he’d already gone to the cafe, until he saw him sitting alone, watching people skating.  
  
Izuku’s heart stopped. Had Katsuki not been skating all this time? Was Izuku already in his way? It couldn’t be. Please...it couldn’t...  
  
‘No you can’t!’ Izuku thought panicked as he began to walk briskly towards the ash blonde, ‘You can’t give up. Please, I’ll get you your skateboard. Just please...get up...Skate!’  
  
Katsuki noticed him then and for a moment it looked like he was frowning, but then he turned his head away again and watched his friends.  
  
“The hell do you want now Deku?” he growled annoyed as Izuku reached him and the freckled teen shrunk into himself at the harsh tone.  
  
“I...uhm...I wanted to know why you’re not skating. Don’t you have to practice for the regionals?” he asked quietly and Katsuki looked at him for a moment and then replied harshly,  
  
“I should be, but some fucker broke my skateboard so I can’t.”  
  
“D-Don’t you have more than one?” Izuku mumbled before he realised what he was saying,  
  
“That wasn’t just any skateboard you fuckmunch. It was special and I refuse to skate on anything else so if I lose the regionals it’ll be your fault.” Katsuki hissed furiously until he looked at Izuku’s eyes. A hot and cold wind swept over him and he immediately regretted his words.  
  
“The fuck is with that face?” Katsuki asked before he could stop himself. What the fuck happened to apologizing for what he said? Izuku averted his eyes, staring onto his shoes, a forced smile etched into his features.  
  
“I’m sorry. I’ll bear all responsibility if you lose. Uhm but...I...” he shook his head and forced himself to look at Katsuki again, “Please don’t stop skating.”  
  
Katsuki didn’t know how to respond to that. What the hell was it to that useless nerd if he didn’t skate? Before he could ask though, Izuku offered him a shy smile and asked,  
  
“Do you want to come to the cafe? I could buy you a drink or something to make up for...” he broke off there and hesitated, trying to find the right words, “So you don’t have to sit here all by yourself.”  
  
Katsuki stared at him, running a couple of things he could possibly respond to that through his head and none of them felt right.  
  
“Well uh...I’m going to be late so I have to go. If you change your mind, feel free to swing by okay?” Izuku said suddenly and Katsuki realised how long he’d been staring for. As Izuku turned to leave, he stood up and shoved his hands into the pockets of his baggy cargo pants, walking beside Izuku in silence. Neither of them spoke, unsure of what to say to the other. It was unbearably awkward, but when Katsuki glanced at Izuku, there was a small genuine smile n the freckled teens lips.  
  
The cafe was unusually quiet and there was no brunette standing behind the counter with a devious grin on her face. Instead there was a tall man with long, shaggy black hair and he was asleep?  
  
“Midoriya, you’re late.” the man spoke suddenly and opened his eyes. He looked more tired than Izuku and Katsuki wasn’t sure if that was possible.  
  
“I’m sorry Mr Aizawa, I’ll make up for it at the end of my shift.” Izuku apologised and Katsuki felt bad for wasting his time.  
  
“You’re on lock up duty, how do you plan on doing that?” Mr Aizawa asked as he watched the freckled teen walk past into the back room to change.  
  
“I’ll use my break time.” Izuku replied muffled and that horribly irritating sensation of guilt Katsuki felt grew, but he was too occupied with the stare down between him and Mr Aizawa to notice.

\-------------------------------------------------  
  
“Where’s the chick who works with you?” Katsuki asked as he sat at the table closest to the counter, watching the freckled teen dry some plates.  
  
“It’s Ochaco’s day off.” Izuku replied absentmindedly and it went quiet again. Apart from them, the cafe was empty and Mr Aizawa had left a while ago.  
  
“When is your next day off?” Katsuki mumbled into his chocolate milkshake he had refused to let Izuku buy for him but still ended but getting anyway. Izuku halted and the clicking of dishes faded, silence creeping into the room again.  
  
“I don’t know.” he replied finally and continued his work. This time it was Katsuki who stopped and watched Izuku for a while, frowning at Izuku’s pause. The freckled teen had changed a lot over the last two weeks. The pretty shine in his eyes had disappeared as if it had never been and his hair was messier than it was before, He’d gotten skinnier too and even his bright smile had wasted away, now only a ghost of what it once was.  
  
‘Why the fuck am I thinking about this?!’ Katsuki thought angrily and slammed the metal cup his milkshake came in onto the table, making Izuku jump and drop the mug he was cleaning. Silence fell over them followed by a small,  
  
“Oh no...” Izuku dropped down behind the counter, repeating those words over and over again. Katsuki frowned confused, was it that bad to drop a mug? Didn’t baristas do that all the time?  
  
“What’s the big idea, it’s just a fucking mug.” he said out loud instead of the ‘sorry’ he had intended. Given anyone else, Katsuki would laugh at their misfortune and yet why wasn’t he laughing now? Maybe it was the way the freckled teen knelt on the cold ground, desperately trying to put together the broken pieces, or maybe it was the way he looked up at Katsuki with a small, weak smile that made the ash blonde feel so horribly, horribly guilty.  
  
“It’s Mr Aizawa’s favourite mug.” Izuku replied quietly, turning over a piece that had small kittens printed on it, the other piece lying a few centimetres away, “It was really old so it was bound to break sooner or later...” he paused briefly, joining the pieces together, “I don’t look forward to telling him I broke it.”  
  
“I...” Katsuki began but broke off. Why the fuck couldn’t he just say sorry? What the fuck was so hard about it?! Izuku stood up and threw the broken pieces into the rubbish bin and offered Katsuki another forced smile, before he continued working as if nothing ever happened. It infuriated the ash blonde, and yet somehow he managed to hold his tongue. 

\------------------------------------------------------

Katsuki wasn’t entirely sure why he left after that, but he did anyway, feeling as though he would have probably punched that forced smile off Izuku’s lips if he hadn’t. Angrily he walked through the streets, curing under his breath. Something about that boy was so infuriatingly irritating.  
  
“Fucking Deku!” Katsuki yelled, taking his anger out on a poor trashcan, but the anger outburst managed to cool him down enough for him to think rationally, if that was even possible. Katsuki was more of a ‘leap before thinking’ sort of person and more often than not he couldn’t give a flying fuck about other people but Izuku...  
  
“What the fuck is wrong with me?!” Katsuki roared, the thought of the freckled teen instantly aggravating his anger again. He had a right to be angry at Izuku. He had a right! That fucking useless nerd broke his prized possession. It was his fault Katsuki couldn’t skate and it was his fault if Katsuki lost the regionals. It was his fault. Katsuki stopped walking and balled his fists, staring at the ground in frustration. Still...what made him angry the most was the he knew, he knew it wasn’t Izuku’s fault at all, at least not entirely.  
  
He slammed his fist against a wall, scaring passersby, but he couldn’t care less. What the hell was so special about that fuckmunch that made him feel so guilty to the point of wanting to throw up?! If he couldn’t say sorry outright, then there had to be another fucking way to rid himself of this awful sensation. There was...only Katsuki wasn’t sure he would make it in time and yet he found himself doing it anyway. 

\-----------------------------------------------------

Izuku shivered as he shut the door for the cafe, his keys jingling in the lock. It was pretty dark already and it has started raining a little. Autumn was just around the corner. The freckled teen sighed exhausted as he turned to leave, bumping into someone. He apologised quietly and shuffled past without looking up, but the person grabbed his arm roughly and held him back. Izuku shrank into himself alarmed and his arm was instantly released.  
  
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” a familiar voice asked harshly and Izuku breathed out relieved as he turned around,  
  
“Oh it’s just you.” he mumbled and Katsuki mentally kicked himself. Dammit he had mean to say sorry and fucked it up again.  
  
“Do you need anything?” Izuku asked confused and rage built up inside the ash blonde again, threatening to spill over as he hissed,  
  
“You look fucking awful.”  
  
Izuku stopped smiling and awkwardly shifted form one foot to the other, avoiding Katsuki’s burning stare. After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and replied in a steady tone,  
  
“Listen, if all you came here for it to mock me, then please don’t come back. Have a nice night.”  
  
Katsuki watched him walk away, unable to say a single word. He couldn’t even bring himself to run after the freckled boy. He couldn’t, because he knew that right now, he didn’t deserve Izuku’s attention even if mocking him hadn’t been his intention. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to say sorry, the plastic bag he held dropped onto the ground, revealing a small white mug with kittens printed on it. 

\--------------------------------------------

“I wonder where Katsuki is.” Ochaco asked absentmindedly as she looked out of the café windows for the hundredth time already. Izuku was quiet.  
  
“Did something happen yesterday when I was away?” she questioned, genuine concern written across her features. Again, Izuku remained silent, staring at the white mug he had found standing in front of the café this morning.  
  
“Izuku?” Ochaco tapped his shoulder and he flinched away.  
  
“Oh crap sorry I forgot! Are you okay? Does it hurt?” she apologised quickly, already rummaging for an ice pack.  
  
“It’s fine, I’m okay. It didn’t really hurt.” Izuku replied hurriedly, catching her hands and pulling her away from the freezer. She looked him over, her brow furrowed with worry, but Izuku merely smiled at her.  
  
“It’s awfully quiet without him here, huh…” he said instead, glancing towards the door, “A regular even asked about him this morning, wondering if he was sick or something. It’s funny how quickly people adapt to something.”  
  
“Izuku, you know you can talk to me about anything right?” Ochaco told him softly and Izuku nodded but remained silent anyway. Those words he had said to Katsuki yesterday, he couldn’t repeat them even if he wanted to. Every time he thought about it he felt so dizzy and nauseous, it was impossible to speak.  
  
“Ah, here they come.” Ochaco said suddenly and as Izuku spied the ash blonde grumpily following Eijirou to the café, he had to hold onto something for support. This was his chance to apologise…but he was too scared…too scared that Katsuki might never talk to him again. What if he was ignored? What would he do then?  
  
Ochaco had already gone to greet them with a big smile and yet why couldn’t Izuku get himself to do the same? He balled his fists frustrated and took a deep breath, he was going to set this right and apologise for what he said, and yet the moment his eyes met Katsuki’s, he just wanted to crawl under the counter and hide.  
  
He didn’t though. But he didn’t go and greet them either. He just stood there, frozen in time and he felt as though if he spoke now, all that would come out of his mouth would be a pitiful sob, because damn he was so happy that even if a little reluctant, Katsuki had come back.  
  
The other didn’t see it that way though and promptly turned around, cursing himself for coming here. He didn’t see Izuku panic. He didn’t hear Eijirou call after him. He just left without knowing why. Although, he didn’t get too far.  
  
“Wait!” Izuku yelled as he sprinted towards him and Katsuki halted. Of course, he could have just kept walking and pretended not to hear, but something told him that Izuku wouldn’t stop chasing him until he listened to what he had to say.  
  
Izuku reached him then, gasping for air as if he wasn’t used to running and he probably wasn’t, at least Katsuki had never heard him say anything about sport before, but that wasn’t important right now.  
  
“Thank you for waiting.” The freckled teen breathed and straightened up, offering Katsuki a genuine smile and holy fuck it was too bright for the ash blonde to look at, so he turned his head away and replied,  
  
“Yeah well, you weren’t gonna stop chasing me so…”  
  
Izuku smiled again and Katsuki’s heart skipped a beat. What the fuck? Was it even legal for someone to be so cute and yet so infuriating at the same time?!  
  
“I wanted to apologise for what I said yesterday…I didn’t…I wasn’t thinking…I’m really sorry, please forgive me.” Izuku told him and clasped his hands together and he really did look sorry too. It didn’t suit him at all. He was supposed to be smiling and laughing and why the fuck was Katsuki thinking about this again?!  
  
“And I found the mug this morning…that’s what you wanted to give me last night, huh?” Izuku babbled and he said a few things after that, but Katsuki had completely zoned out already, merely listening to the freckled teens voice.  
  
“Katsuki?” Izuku asked confused and the way he had his head tilted, and the way his big green eyes blinked at him expectantly and his perfectly formed lips…Katsuki turned away sharply and slammed his fist against a wall, scaring Izuku half to death. 

\-----------------------------------------------

“That was really stupid of you. You should take more care of yourself!” Izuku scolded as he wrapped Katsuki’s bruised hand in an icepack and the ash blonde glared at him.  
  
“Yeah well it was your fault you damn nerd.” He hissed back as Izuku packed away the first aid kit.  
  
“I didn’t do anything.” The freckled teen protested and Katsuki went quiet, inspecting the neatly wrapped bandages on his hand. It looked really professional and he wondered if Izuku had to do this often. He would have asked, but something told him it wasn’t a good idea. At least not yet.  
  
“So you were the one who bought a new mug. I was so confused when I found the old one in the bin. I don’t know where you even got that from, but boy, you saved Izuku big time. Mr Aizawa would have fired him.” Ochaco babbled as she sat down beside Katsuki.  
  
“Shouldn’t you be working?” Katsuki replied irritated, her words making him feel guilty again. So what if he had saved Izuku from getting fired, the fact of the matter is that he still did that and Izuku had to suffer in silence, knowing full well that it might cost him his job and hadn’t he mumbled something about medicine once?  
  
“I’m on my break right now.” She replied quickly and continued, “You should have seen him this morning. He looked so out of it but he wouldn’t tell me what was wrong. I guess he was just that happy to see you.”  
At this, Katsuki started listening to her.  
  
“He talks about you a lot, you know. Usually though he’s just complaining about how much that special skateboard of yours costs.” She spoke, obviously teasing him now, “You don’t seem all that angry about it anymore, has Izuku taken a piece of you already?”  
  
“That’s none of your business.” Katsuki hissed sourly and Ochaco smirked amused. He’d changed a little over the last few weeks, sort of like his rough edges had been smoothed out by someone, and that someone happened to be a certain freckled, green haired barista.  
  
“Whelp, break time is over, enjoy your drink then.” She said suddenly and rose, but before she turned away she smiled,  
  
“You’re always welcome here as long as you’re nice to Izuku.”  
  
Katsuki grumbled curses under his breath, irritated by her entire being, but then he locked eyes with Izuku and his anger fell away as the freckled teen smiled at him broadly. Katsuki realised then that he wasn’t even falling anymore. He’d already crashed and there was nothing he could do about it.

  



	4. Kacchan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 of Strawberry Clouds~  
>   
> Welp we finally get Katsuki's nickname and I epically failed xD  
> Sorry Sorry~  
> Anyway enjoy

“He what?!” Katsuki raged at the brunette behind the counter as she calmly yet remorsefully dried dishes. Katsuki stared at her, hoping she’d turn around and laugh in his face, mock the concern that scarred his brow, anything...just not this silence. Her words...they had been so quiet, Katsuki had almost missed them and hell, he wished he had.  
  
“When?” he rasped and sat down slowly. God he felt sick.  
  
“An hour ago.” Ochaco replied, “He was...he was stressing out because...” she broke off and set down a mug, uncomfortably pushing it around on the counter. Katsuki knew why and it only made him feel worse.  
  
“I told him...I told him he would...” Ochaco whispered, “I should have stopped him...even Mr Aizawa told him...he told him!”  
  
“Where is he now?” Katsuki asked suddenly and Ochaco finally looked at him. She was silent for a moment, then something in her expression changed as she replied,  
  
“He’s at home and...could you...could you take care of him? He’s...all alone and I’m so worried...but I’m stuck here...”  
  
“What kind of stupid ass question is that?!” Katsuki snapped, “I was already planning on it anyway!”  
  
Ochaco smiled relieved, although in the back of her mind she felt as though maybe Katsuki wasn’t entirely fit to take care of someone in need of rest, but she didn’t think that far ahead as she wrote Izuku’s address down on a piece of paper.  
  
“Make sure he stays in bed!” Ochaco yelled after the ash blonde as he ran out of the cafe.

\-------------------------------------

“What the fuck?” Katsuki breathed as he rounded the corner into a very familiar street. There was his house and a little further down was the old apartment complex...where Izuku lived. Katsuki walked towards it slowly, double checking the address Ochaco had written down on the piece of paper. Yeah, this was it but how...how had Katsuki never seen the freckled teen here before? Right...he was a egotistical, private school kid that took little interest in the world around him and yet...Izuku was terribly hard to miss with that huge mess or green hair and those fantastically big eyes of his.  
  
He climbed the stairs slowly, triple checking he wasn’t hallucinating or something because hell he felt so ignorant and stupid right now it was infuriating and if it hadn’t been for the familiar black haired man who walked out of the last apartment, he would have broken whatever was closest to him - some pretty flowerpots in this case.  
  
“He needs rest. Seeing you is only going to make things worse. Go home.” Mr Aizawa said finally after staring at the ash blonde for a good five minutes. He walked past him and stopped for a moment, “Actually, it’s probably better if you don’t come back to the cafe for a while. Have a nice day.”  
  
Katsuki couldn’t reply. He couldn’t move. There was this strange stabbing sensation in his chest - a sensation he had never felt before and it made him feel awful. Aizawa’s words...they cut deep, but worst of all, he knew they were true and perhaps it was that which hurt the most.  
  
‘What the fuck is wrong with me?’ he thought confused and clutched at his chest. Wasn’t he supposed to be the undefeated champion? The person everyone respected, feared. The person who couldn’t be fazed by anything and yet how the fuck did those words hurt so much.  
  
‘Because you know its your fault.’ a voice told him and Katsuki punched the wall, the flowerpots swayed dangerously. He couldn’t - no - he shouldn’t do this. Aizawa is right. He was right. Just like how Eijirou was right when he said not to put so much pressure on Izuku. Just like how everyone else who had frowned on his actions, hell, his very being. They were all right and he was wrong. It was his fault.  
  
God he’d been so angry when he went to the cafe and he was going to take it out in him. He was going to blame him for everything again even though it wasn’t his fault. But now...Katsuki laughed bitterly. He deserved this. Maybe...maybe if he hadn’t wasted so much time beating up Eijirou and Kaminari, then maybe he could have prevented all this because...the regionals had been delayed until further notice. He could have taken that stress away from Izuku and none of this would have happened...Izuku wouldn’t have had to suffer.  
  
‘Yeah right...as if wallowing in self-pity is going to make this any better.’ he thought sourly and mentally kicked himself. Yes, this was his fault, there was nothing he could do to change that, but he could at least try to make things better. He was the person who never shied away from anything for crying out loud and yet whenever he was around the freckled teen his logic seemed to short circuit.  
  
“What a pain in the ass.” he growled and reached for the doorknob. Why the fuck was his hand trembling?! Didn’t he just sort this shit out?! Was that mental breakdown all for nothing now?! He clicked his tongue annoyed and ripped the door open. Silence greeted him. He wanted to leave and yet at the same time he couldn’t. This might be a one in a lifetime opportunity so see Izuku all drowsy and cute - wait he was always cute.  
  
‘What the fuck is wrong with you?!’ Katsuki raged inside his head, biting his bottom lip to keep the words from escaping and waking Izuku. He breathed out after the words died in his throat and he closed the door as quietly as possible and for Katsuki who didn’t exactly know what quiet was...well...he tried his best.  
  
The apartment was small, plain, nothing like the freckled teen's bubbly personality. The hallway was decorated with a few old pictures and Katsuki stopped briefly to look at them. So that was Izuku’s mother. She looked a lot like him. Katsuki smiled a little at baby Izuku with his hair in a ponytail above his head. He stopped, squinting his eyes. That person in the background...it couldn’t be.  
  
“Katsuki?” a faint yet so familiar voice croaked and Katsuki swung around surprised. Izuku stood in a doorway, a blanket wrapped tightly around him, his hands clutching onto the door, trying to keep himself upright. God he looked awful. Deep dark bags scarred the freckled skin beneath his lifeless eyes and he was unbelievably pale. Izuku had wasted away right under Katsuki’s eyes and the ash blonde had been too blinded by ignorance, anger to notice him suffering in silence.  
  
Izuku looked terrified and Aizawa’s words rang in Katsuki’s head. This had been a bad idea. Fuck why hadn’t he just turned around and left?! Izuku didn’t deserve this hurt. He didn’t deserve any of it.  
  
“I-I’m sorry I couldn’t...” Izuku’s voice faded and Katsuki swore he could hear Izuku’s heart from where he stood. The freckled teen turned as white as a sheet and his knees buckled under him. His hands released the door and he fell.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Izuku was woken by a sweet smell and curiosity roused him from his bed. His eyes fell onto a steaming cup of tea on the small nightstand beside him and he couldn’t help but smile as he took a small sip, muffled swearing coming from the direction of the kitchen.  
  
Surprised, he jerked the mug away from his mouth and licked his lips. This wasn’t green tea. Did he even have anything other than green tea at home? He set it to his lips again and drank it slowly, savouring every sip because he didn’t know when he could afford it. Just then, Katsuki appeared in the doorway, carrying a small tray with a large white bowl. Izuku didn’t own any large white bowls.  
  
Katsuki froze, somewhat embarrassed by Izuku’s questioning gaze, but then he caught himself and walked over, sliding the tray onto the nightstand, glaring daggers at the freckled teen. He wanted to tell him to get back into bed, but Izuku was happily drinking the tea. He wanted to tell him to get back into bed after he’d finished the tea, but then Izuku would want to eat the porridge Katsuki made and the ash blonde didn’t know what to tell him now and why the hell had he agreed to this in the first place?  
  
“Thank you very much Katsuki.” Izuku told him and offered a small smile from behind the mug and Katsuki’s heart skipped a beat.  
  
“Yeah whatever you useless nerd, just hurry up and get better.” he hissed, masking his emotions behind the usual amount satire but Izuku thought he saw something different in his eyes. Whatever it was, it passes as quickly as it had come and the freckled teen forgot about it as his stomach rumbled.  
  
He’d almost laughed then when he noticed Katsuki’s expectant stare as he brought the spoon to his mouth. Almost. Katsuki noticed how his contours distorted a little and his bottom lip quivered ever so slightly. He almost wanted to yell at Izuku for stifling the laugh and not hearing it irritated him more than hearing it would have, but he stopped himself as Izuku ate the porridge he’d spent a good hour making because how the fuck does one even cook?!  
  
“This is really good!” Izuku praised as he happily dangled his legs over the edge of the bed and Katsuki breathed out relieved. Ten tries that had taken. Ten fucking tries.  
  
“I uh - all the...stuff (shit) you had at home was...(fucking awful) no good...so I ran home quickly and... picked up (stole) a few things to help you...get by without work for a while.” Katsuki responded and covered his mouth to keep himself from grinning like an idiot. Izuku noticed anyway and the ash blonde pinched a freckled cheek, trying to get him to stop before he melted.  
  
“Ow, ow, okay, okay let go.” Izuku whined and Katsuki released him reluctantly. God he was cute and the way he rubbed his red cheek now with a small pout on his lips holy hell Katsuki was going to die. He had to change the subject before his logic short circuited.  
  
“So about my skateboard...” Katsuki began and Izuku froze, panic rising in his eyes and Katsuki quickly added,  
  
“The regionals have been postponed until further notice...also...you don’t have to pay for it...I forgive you.”  
  
Forgive what? Katsuki had no clue. It hadn’t been entirely Izuku’s fault, he knew that better than anyone. He could have watched where he was going instead of yelling at his friends. He could have avoided the whole thing in the first place if he wasn’t such a fucking huge, egotistical, self-centred, ignorant asshole.  
  
“No.” Izuku said and set down the bowl, smiling at Katsuki, “At first I was really scared of you because of what you threatened to do if I didn’t buy you a new one...but the more I got to know you, the more I want to get it for you so that you can follow your dreams. It might be a little more expensive than others, but that’s okay because I destroyed something you treasured so it’s only right. Those memories and its sentimental value...i can never replace that...but I can at least give you a chance to make new ones.”  
  
Katsuki didn’t know how to respond to that and he knew that even if he did and even if he tried, nothing but incoherent words would come out. Izuku laughed at his stunned expression. There was that laugh that killed Katsuki no matter how many times he heard it and he couldn’t even get mad about it anymore because Izuku just looked so damn nice.  
  
“Why the fuck...?” Katsuki began and Izuku merely continued eating his porridge as if he hadn’t said any of that and Katsuki knew by that smug smile on the freckled teens lips that he knew exactly what that had done to Katsuki. Holy fuck the ash blonde just wanted to punch him. Anything to knock that irritatingly adorable grin off his features.  
  
“More please!” Izuku said suddenly and held the bowl out to Katsuki and he had to mentally kick himself not to slap the bowl out of the smaller boy’s hands. Katsuki and self-restraint were not something that went well together and yet every time he was around Izuku the world seemed hell bent on challenging his patience. One of these days he was going to snap.  
  
“Fine.” he growled, trying not to sound too fucking happy about it, “Just stay in bed.”  
  
“’Kay” Izuku hummed as he watched Katsuki leave. Then he had a mental breakdown and threw himself into his pillow, muffling an embarrassed scream because he had no clue Katsuki could be so adorable? Holy shit what? He pulled out his phone, frantically sending texts to Ochaco, trying to calm his racing heart before the ash blonde came back. A minute later she called.  
  
Katsuki didn’t entirely understand what was going on in that room as he came back with another serving of porridge. ‘Kacchan’ this and ‘Kacchan’ that. It didn’t take all too long before he realised the freckled teen was referring to him and sounded happy about it.  
  
“Uwah Kacchan, when did you get here?!” Izuku exclaimed all of the sudden, clasping his hand over his mouth. Silence - the heavily guarded nickname spoken aloud. Izuku dropped the phone, a bright blush heating up his cheeks. Katsuki stared at him and uttered,  
  
“What the fuck?”  
  
“I uh...” Izuku began and trailed off, loud laughter coming from the dropped phone. Heavy awkward silence. Katsuki didn’t know what to think. How dare he give him such an adorable nickname like what the actual fuck it didn’t suit him at all but it was so cute. Did Izuku think he was cute? Wait that was impossible. Katsuki and cute should never go in one sentence together and anyone who tried would get murdered but ‘Kacchan’ and cute in one sentence...  
  
“It’s just you called me Deku and I was mad at you for doing that but now I kind of really like it because it’s your nickname for me so I thought of one for you but I never got the chance to tell you so it kind of became a secret and now you know and god this is so embarrassing.” Izuku babbled flustered his face turning a very pretty shade of scarlet.  
  
“Do what you want.” Katsuki hissed through clenched teeth, trying terribly hard not to show any emotion as he handed Izuku the bowl. Ochaco’s laughter still echoed from the phone until Katsuki hung up irritated. Izuku was staring at him. No, staring through him, right into his soul and Katsuki wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch him in the face or let him stare.  
  
“You seem to be doing a lot fucking better now so I think I’m gonna go.” Katsuki said a little harsher than he had intended.  
  
“Ah okay...” Izuku replied quietly, avoiding eye contact with him. As Katsuki turned to leave he added quietly,  
  
“Do you...do you like it?”  
  
“Like what?”  
  
“The nickname...you know...Kacchan.” Izuku asked hopefully and Katsuki swore there were sparkles in those green orbs as the freckled teen spoke his nickname.  
  
“I don’t hate it.” Katsuki replied, “See you later, Deku.”  
  
“Yeah, bye Kacchan, thank you for taking care of me.”  
  
Katsuki couldn’t reply. Or look at Izuku’s bright smile. He would have really punched him if he had.


	5. The Regionals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uwaaaah I'm totally late T.T I'm sorry  
> This is a little short because I decided it was a good place to finish for now...next chapter is fluff pure because I think it's enough angst and plot for now~  
> Thank you so much for comments and kudos! You guys make my day ^.^  
> Please enjoy~

“What?! No you can’t! Kacchan please don’t withdraw your entry from the regionals. I’ll get you your skateboard. I promised! Please Kacchan trust me.”  
  
Those had been Izuku’s flustered words two weeks ago when Katsuki had told him he wasn’t going to take part in the regionals so that the freckled teen would stop stressing, but in the end Izuku wouldn’t let him quit no matter how angry he got at the other. So here he sat without a skateboard, absentmindedly watching the other contestants, his turn rapidly approaching and there was no sign of curly green hair - that is until a hushed murmur ran through the crowd watching.  
  
This person. Extravagant blonde hair. A big toothy grin. Yellow, stripy suit. A legend and hero amongst the skateboarding community. The world champion who won for 15 consecutive years and stood undefeated even before that. The person Katsuki worshiped...and beside him stood a small freckled boy, awkwardly clutching onto a brand new skateboard with a red ribbon tied around it. Katsuki couldn’t believe it. So his eyes hadn’t deceived him that time when he was looking at the pictures hanging up in Izuku’s apartment. That really had been...  
  
“All Might?” Katsuki breathed and Izuku spotted him then, giving the thunderstruck ash blonde a small awkward wave as he walked over to him and then held out the new skateboard.  
  
“Here you go, a new skateboard, just like I promised.” he said, struggling not to sound too out of breath and Katsuki swore there were flowers and all popping up around him like in a goddamn anime or something. Reluctantly, the ash blonde took it from him, his hand brushing with Izuku’s and he realised how much the freckled teen was shaking.  
  
“Midoriya my boy, is this your friend?” a loud, booming voice asked suddenly and Katsuki froze completely. All Might was here. Standing right in front of him. Talking with Izuku like it’s nothing.  
  
“Yeah.” Izuku nodded, “This is-...”  
  
“Bakugou Katsuki.” All Might finished for him and both Izuku and Katsuki looked like their eyes were about to pop out of their heads.  
  
“Yeah but...how did you?” Izuku began slowly, managing to pull himself together first. All Might laughed loudly, earning him stares from everyone around him - hell the entire regionals had been put on halt because of him. Everyone wanted to see their idol - even the judges.  
  
“He’s got quite the reputation amongst the older generations - a diamond in the rough. Bakugou my boy. Little Izuku here worked very hard to bring you that skateboard, make it count.” All Might replied with that big signature grin of his. Katsuki was speechless, the world around him completely drowned out - except Izuku’s voice as he protested that he wasn’t ‘little’ and Katsuki almost smiled. Almost.  
  
\-----------------------------------------------------------

All Might stayed to watch the rest of the regionals, being made a judge of honour by the committee and awarding each competitor with a glorified speech about their performance. Izuku watched from the stands, happily munching around on some popcorn All Might had bought him and Katsuki stood by the rink still unable to comprehend what had happened as he stared at the signature written on the bottom of his new skateboard. No - not All Might’s signature, but the small scribbled ‘Good luck Kacchan! -Izuku” hidden in the shadow of the truck.  
  
He should be angry at Izuku for writing on his precious new skateboard. He should be angry at him for being so damn late and almost missing his turn. He should be angry at him for never telling him about his friendship with All Might and yet instead of being angry, he lovingly traced his finger over the small writing, unaware of the little smile that had formed on his lips.  
  
“Dude that’s creepy, don’t smile you’ll scare the children.” Eijirou mocked with a big grin of his own as he leaned over Katsuki’s shoulder to see the new skateboard. He was then promptly punched in the face, but that did little to change his mood as he smirked up at the ash blonde from the ground.  
  
“You’re gonna get yourself kicked out if you go around punching people, you know that.” Denki added between slurping his lemon Slurpee. He was right, but that didn’t change the fact that Katsuki knocked his pretty face against the metal fence separating them. The judges were glaring him and he knew it, but he was more worried about the big green eyes watching him with a frown from the stands.  
  
“You are so whipped.” Eijirou chuckled as he spied Katsuki staring at Izuku and that earned him a kick to the face. Good thing he was already on the ground or that would’ve knocked him down again.  
  
“Shut the fuck up, you hair for brains! Do you want to die?!” the ash blonde snapped at him and instantly All Might’s booming voice reminded Katsuki that violence was forbidden anywhere near the event and should he have to be told again it would be an instant disqualification. A few laughs bubbled up in the crowd which was only met with more explosive verbal abuse from the ash blonde and Izuku watched, unsure if he found Katsuki’s behaviour worrisome or...kind of adorable?  
  
Izuku’s thoughts were interrupted when the announcer introduced Katsuki as the next contestant and something in the crowd shifted. It felt like they were all curious about Katsuki - hadn’t there been some talk about him being the ‘favourite’ to win or something? Yet there was also malice but Izuku couldn’t pinpoint from where it came. It made his skin crawl.  
  
Izuku watched at the ash blonde walked onto the rink, the new skateboard held loosely under his arm like it had always belonged there. From up here, Izuku couldn’t tell if Katsuki was nervous and knowing him he probably wasn’t. Izuku wondered if he’d also felt that rush of adrenaline surging through his veins right before his turn - or the eyes of the crowd and the judges staring at him unblinkingly, expecting something to happen. That fear of not delivering to their expectations or the thrill of seeing the results. That exhilarating sensation that came with every competition...that feeling he’d never feel again.  
  
Izuku shook his head stubbornly. Now was not the time to be thinking about anything like that. He was here to watch Katsuki win, not to wallow in self-pity of unreachable dreams he left behind years ago. That time was long gone and he knew it.  
  
Katsuki was flying - at least that’s what Izuku thought. No other skateboarder had reached such heights in the entire tournament and the more he watched, the more Izuku realised what All Might had been talking about. He knew little about skateboarding, but he could tell just by watching Katsuki that the ash blonde had a talent like no other amongst the competitors. It was fascinating to watch.  
  
Still, there was that malice in the air that Izuku just couldn’t shake. He’d felt it before, when he was talking with All Might and Katsuki, but it hadn’t been this strong. Someone here wanted to seek Katsuki fail and it made Izuku’s stomach churn. Who on earth could have such ill intentions towards the ash blonde? By the time he found the person or actually those people, it was already too late. A glass bottle was thrown, jagged edges flying towards Katsuki as he was mid jump and there was no way for him to dodge.  
  
“Kacchan look out!” Izuku yelled at the top of his lungs, the world around him being drowned out by his heartbeat, his voice doubling over. Time slowed as Katsuki’s eyes met his and then found the glass bottle hurdling itself towards him. Izuku didn’t know it was possible, but somehow Katsuki managed to turn himself in the air so the glass bottle merely grazed his side a little. Then time sped up again, followed by a blood curling snap as Katsuki landed on the concrete floor.  
  
Silence then panic as the first aid crew rushed to the silent ash blonde sitting in the middle of the rink, staring at his right leg, grotesquely twisted in an unnatural angle. He didn’t utter a single sound as his eyes searched the crowd. His eyes were unfocused, Izuku could tell even from way up here. Katsuki was hurting and in return, Izuku hurt too. Rage is the term used to express the feeling coursing through Izuku at that very moment - but those people had already gone.  
  
Izuku had never run so fast in his entire life as he skipped steps and jumped the barrier separating the stands and the rink. Security was yelling at him to get back but what the hell did he care when Katsuki had that look on his face. He reached the ash blonde even before Eijirou and Denki did, dropping to his knees, calling out Katsuki’s nickname. The ash blonde looked at him through half lidded eyes like he was struggling to stay conscious.  
  
Izuku was being pulled away from by the security guards, kicking against them to let him go. It wasn’t until All Might told them to let Izuku stay that they let him go and the freckled teen ran back to Katsuki, tightly holding onto his hand until the ambulance arrived. He couldn’t tell how many times Katsuki faded in and out of consciousness and every time he did, Izuku would softly call his nickname, waiting for the ash blonde to open his eyes again.  
  
By the time they had finally moved him onto a stretcher, Katsuki was a little more awake again, angrily cussing at people watching and Izuku had to remind him to stop. He listened to Izuku and Izuku only. All Might stood by, telling a police officer what had happened, briefly stopping to ask Izuku a question about the people he saw. It was all a little chaotic and the regionals were put on halt, the remaining contestants sent home with signature from All Might as compensation.  
  
This entire day had turned into a bigger mess than anyone had expected and Izuku was violently thrown back into memories he thought he’d forgotten, seeing himself lying on that stretcher, his mum riding in the ambulance with him. Yet the day was still no over and in the end, it wasn’t all bad. 

  


\----------------------------------------------------------

“Your eyes are so fucking pretty.”  
  
Those were Katsuki’s first words to Izuku after he woke up from his surgery, sleepily staring at the freckled teen through half lidded eyes. Izuku’s heart stopped and a blush heated his cheeks.  
  
“W-what?” he stammered surprised, unsure if it was because of what Katsuki had said or because right now the ash blonde looked kinda really adorable?  
  
“Kacchan are you okay? Did you hit your head?” Izuku asked carefully and red eyes glared at him menacingly, but only half so, and Izuku couldn’t help but laugh a little. The next words Katsuki spoke were so slurred Izuku couldn’t understand them and that seemed to frustrate Katsuki so he repeated them over and over again until he was practically glaring at the words as if they hung in the air. Izuku was laughing so hard he almost fell off his chair, but his laughter seemed to put the ash blonde in a better mood.  
  
“You sure did put on a show though. That was something else. I mean, I know nothing about skateboarding but those tricks were super cool. You were amazing Kacchan!” Izuku said after a while, beaming as he spoke and Katsuki swore he was sparkling or something. He wasn’t even listening to Izuku anymore, just marvelling at the beauty he radiated as he excitedly mimicked Katsuki’s tricks with his hand. The freckled teen caught him staring and looked away shyly. Katsuki frowned. That was new.  
  
Izuku was blushing so much his ears were red. That at least, Katsuki could tell from where he was lying. Maybe it was the painkillers which spoke, or maybe it was the security he felt because he knew Izuku would blame Katsuki’s drowsiness for his confession. Either way, the words just tumbled out, slurred and quiet, but they were there and Izuku heard. Katsuki knew he did. Every single word. He wasn’t looking, but the blush covering his ears had deepened and it was so adorable.  
  
“I think I’m in love with you, Izuku.” Katsuki spoke softly. Izuku shrank into himself before he turned around staring at Katsuki wide-eyed, his face such a pretty shade of red. He couldn’t reply. Katsuki said his name. Katsuki said he was in love with him. Not even a laugh could force itself past his quivering lips, because he was so happy he could cry but...he didn’t have to respond anyway because he knew Katsuki wouldn’t remember saying those words. That unfocused look in his eyes was more than enough proof for Izuku that it was the painkillers speaking and yet why did that hurt so much?  
  
“I...I see.” Izuku managed finally, giving Katsuki a crooked smile and the blonde frowned confused. That was an expression he hadn’t seen before. He didn’t like that smile. It was forced.  
  
“So uhm, do you know when they’re going to let you go home?” Izuku asked, staring out of the window, avoiding eye contact with Katsuki all together. Katsuki frowned again and then replied grumpily,  
  
“I don’t fucking know Deku, obviously just woke up.”  
  
“Right sorry.” Izuku muttered. This wasn’t fair to Katsuki, he knew that, but how could he respond if he himself hadn’t even sorted out his feelings yet. The blonde would forget. That’s what Izuku hoped. Until he knew the answer to Katsuki’s confession he wasn’t going to bring it up again.  
  
After that, All Might visited, telling them that the police had found the people responsible for Katsuki’s injuries and that the police was dealing with them accordingly. Katsuki returned to his normal self as if All Might’s presence had instantly woken him up and although Izuku was glad the ash blonde was alright, he kind of already missed the adorable side of a tired Katsuki.  
  
He didn’t see the way Katsuki smiled at his back as he left the hospital room.

  



	6. Summer Festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya everyone~  
> First off, I am so sorry for not updating last week but school has been so stressful and I didn't want to update something half-assed (I have an exam on Wednesday T.T wish me luck!) and please don't worry if in future I have to skip a week. I have no intention of dropping this whatsoever.  
> Anyways~ Here is chapter 6. Fluff like I promised ^.^  
> Enjoy!

  
  


“Kacchan are you alright?”  
  
“Will you stop fucking worrying?! I’m not some sort of damsel in distress for fucks sake.” Katsuki snapped and swing his crutches at Izuku, but missed and spent the next few seconds trying not to fall flat onto his face. Izuku almost laughed and his nose scrunched up, his lips quirking up into a wonky grin as he tried his best to hide it. Katsuki wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch him or kiss him.  
  
“I swear to fucking god Deku I will kill you-!” Katsuki growled annoyed, bu the freckled teen wasn’t even listening anymore. In fact, Katsuki wasn’t even sure where Izuku had run off to. Confused, he looked around, trying to find that familiar mop of curly green hair between the mass of people at the park.  
  
“I take my eyes off him for one second and he fucking disappears on me.” the ash blonde growled frustratedly as he failed to find Izuku. Cursing under his breath, he began to make his way through the park until finally he spotted the freckled teen buying fairy floss from a little vendor cart not too far from where they’d been standing just a minute ago.  
  
“Kacchan, here you go.” Izuku beamed as he shoved the sugary pink stuff into Katsuki’s face and if it had been anyone other than Izuku, Katsuki would have probably most likely killed them on the spot, but there was something awfully adorable about the way Izuku held out the fairy floss to him that he reluctantly swallowed his rage and took it from him. That smug little smile on Izuku’s lips as he bit into the sugary treat was more than enough to tell Katsuki that the little nerd was well aware of what he was doing.  
  
“You little shit...” he whispered under his breath and Izuku merely smiled at him brightly, well aware of the words the ash blonde had uttered, but he didn’t care because who knew that something scary and something cute would look so...hot?  
  
“The hell are you staring at?” Katsuki snapped at Izuku and the freckled teen shrank into himself and blushed embarrassed, meekly rubbing the back of his head, stuttering an inaudible reply and Katsuki felt his self-restraint fading because fuck that was cute. Izuku turned away sharply, hiding away his embarrassment. He didn’t see Katsuki smile. Katsuki was glad he came along.  
  
At first, when Izuku had asked Katsuki if they could go to the end of summer festival, the ash blonde hadn’t been too fond of the idea, especially after just getting released from hospital and still trying to get used to the crutches and all, but Izuku had been so damn pouty afterwards that he gave in after all.  
  
It was a warm day and the sun shone brightly in the sky without a single cloud to be seen anywhere. It kind of reminded Katsuki of the day he met Izuku and fuck he hated nostalgia, but the freckled teen himself hadn’t seemed to notice. Even if he had, he had not yet said anything about it. Maybe it was the buzz of the crowd that distracted Izuku as he dragged Katsuki around the place, or maybe he simply felt as though the words were better left unspoken.  
  
What bugged Katsuki the most though, was how careful Izuku was being around him, always making sure he could walk on even ground, avoided large crowds so Katsuki wouldn’t get shoved and fall and always glanced at him for a second before slowing down to match the ash blonde’s speed.  
  
Every time the freckled teen did that, all Katsuki wanted to do was to yell at him, to make it clear that he was fine, but there was this strange look in Izuku’s eyes that made the ash blonde bite his tongue. He didn’t quite know what it was, but it was unsettling and yet barely there. Like a sort of bad memory haunting the curly haired boy smiling up at him and it just didn’t belong there. It didn’t belong between the pretty stars painted on the emerald green of Izuku’s eyes. It didn’t belong to the warm smile that shone brighter than the sun itself. It didn’t belong there at all.  
  
“Hey Kacchan look, they’re selling flower crowns!” Izuku exclaimed suddenly and pointed at a small stall. Katsuki’s stomach churned uncomfortably as Izuku beamed at him, knowing full well what the freckled teen would say next. He should say no, but there was that irritatingly adorable look that had brought him into this mess in the first time and Katsuki surrendered.  
  
“Fine.” he growled and he swore Izuku’s eyes fucking sparkled as the freckled teen beamed from ear to ear and yet, he still waited for Katsuki to catch up every few meters as they made their way over to the stall.  
  
“Hold on, I’ll buy it for you.” Katsuki said as Izuku reached for his money. It was only a few yen, but for some reason Katsuki really wanted those flowers to be a present from him. He struggled a little as he fished out some coins, trying his best not to fall over and handed the little girl selling the flower crowns the money, letting Izuku pick out the one he wanted.  
  
Izuku reached for a white one, but it had entangled itself with a pink one and the little girl laughed at his failed attempt of separating them. She held out her hand and helped him, before handing both flower crowns back to him. Confused, Izuku looked at the pink one and said,  
  
“But we only bought one?”  
  
The little girl giggled, closing Izuku’s hands around the flowers and pointed at Katsuki,  
  
“He’s been standing there frowning and it’s scary. If he wears a pink flower crown he won’t be so scary looking anymore.”  
  
A cold shiver ran down Katsuki’s spine. Oh no. Fuck no. He was not going to wear that shit.  
  
“I see.” Izuku laughed and turned around to Katsuki with that pleading look. Nope not this time. He was not going to give in. No way in hell was he going to...  
  
“No fucking way Deku. I am not wearing that.” Katsuki snapped irritatedly, greatly regretting the fact that he even agreed to let Izuku come over here. Of fucking course this was going to happen. The little girl gasped softly and Izuku glared at Katsuki warningly, making the ash blonde swallow any other curses he had planned on voicing.  
  
“Awe Kacchan, but I think it’d look super nice on you.” Izuku pouted, immediately reverting back to pleading, knowing full well that Katsuki wasn’t going to swear anymore. Fuck. Now both of them were staring at him expectantly with their fantastically big eyes. What the fuck did he do to deserve this?!  
  
“Hey Kacchan look, it’s Eijirou and Denki!” Izuku exclaimed suddenly and pointed away excitedly. That was the last thing Katsuki needed right now so of course he turned around to see where his two idiot friends might be laughing at him from and as soon as he did, Izuku reached up and put the pink flower crown onto his spiky hair.  
Katsuki froze. He should have known. Slowly he turned around, ready to kill Izuku for that little stunt, but Izuku was also wearing his flower crown and Katsuki swore his heart fucking stopped because holy fuck that was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.  
  
“Whaaaaa~ Kacchan it does look really good on you!” Izuku beamed, flashing him a big, bright, toothy grin and it took all of Katsuki’s self-restraint to not kiss him right then and there. Instead he grumbled something along the lines of “you’re the good looking one” under his breath, praying to god that Izuku didn’t hear it and turned away to hide the faint blush blossoming on his cheeks.  
  
“Have fun on your date!” the little girl yelled after them as they left and Izuku shrunk into himself, stuttering inaudible words about how they weren’t on a date and Katsuki simply limped on, hoping throbbing heart wasn’t going to betray him as he tried to keep his cool. He and Izuku on a date. Now that was something he could only dream of and yet...was this a date?  
  
“Deku...” he began and Izuku shrank into himself again,  
  
“W-what?” the freckled teen replied flustered and Katsuki pointed his crutch at a food stand,  
  
“Let’s grab something to eat. I’m fucking hungry.”  
  
“Ah, of course.” Izuku replied with a nervous smile. Yes, food did sound good and he hadn’t even realised how hungry he’d gotten until Katsuki pointed it out. It smelled super good near the food stalls and Izuku’s stomach growled loudly. Embarrassed, he covered himself with his arms and Katsuki glanced at him, trying terribly hard not to let his amusement show. Instead he went and stood in line to buy some food for the two of them.  
  
Izuku joined him awkwardly, shifting from one foot to the other, uncomfortable in the mass of people. He was overlooked and pushed around as the line moved along until Katsuki grabbed his arm and pulled him in front, somewhat protectively caging him in between his crutches so that he wasn’t knocked around anymore. Izuku felt his face heat up, but he remained there nonetheless, unable to shake this strange pang of happiness pounding in his heart.  
  
They got their food and sat down on a little secluded bench overlooking the skate park. Every now and then, Izuku glanced over at Katsuki, but the ash blonde calmly sat beside him and watched his friends skate from afar.  
  
“What do you want Deku?” Katsuki finally asked, his eyes shifting to look at Izuku fora second and the freckled teen panicked a little. Eventually he replied,  
  
“Aren’t you sad at all that you can’t skate right now?” The question took Katsuki by surprise and he fully turned to look at Izuku, trying to find the reason for the question in his eyes, but there was nothing.  
  
“I’m not sad.” Katsuki said, turning back to look at the skate park, “But I’m fucking pissed off. If they’d done that to anyone else, who knows what could’ve happened.”  
  
Izuku didn’t know how to reply to that. Those had been his words too. He let out a soft laugh which erupted into a giggle fit, infuriating the ash blonde to no end because holy crap how was he allowed to be so cute and yet so horribly irritating?  
  
“The hell is so fucking funny?!” Katsuki snapped, pinching Izuku’s left cheek annoyed.  
  
“Ow, ow, okay, okay I’ll stop! I’m sorry it was just really unexpected and...mature?” Izuku whined, trying to pry Katsuki’s iron grip off his poor cheek. Finally, Katsuki let go, glaring daggers at the freckled teen who merely offered him a wonky smile as he rubbed his aching cheek. They sat in silence for a bit until Izuku asked,  
  
“Hey Kacchan, can you teach me how to skate?”  
  
“You...want me to teach you to skateboard?” Katsuki asked back to confirm that his ears weren’t deceiving him. Izuku smiled at him broadly and nodded eagerly. Katsuki was silent, letting the question sink in for a bit.  
  
“No, you’ll just end up hurting yourself or something because you’re so fucking clumsy.” Katsuki said finally, both because he was generally scared about Izuku’s well-being and because he didn’t actually know how to teach someone anything. Ah...there was that pout again. Fuck, why did Izuku have to be so damn adorable. It wasn’t fair.  
  
“Besides, I don’t even have my board with me right now.” Katsuki tried in a futile attempt to get the freckled teen beside him to stop pouting. At this, Izuku did stop and his face brightened up, a mischievous smile crossing his lips for a brief second before he pushed himself off the bench and declared that he was going to go say hi to Eijirou and Denki. Katsuki watched him march towards the skate park, always glancing back now and then to grin at the ash blonde.  
  
“Oh for fucks sake Deku you little piece of shit.” the ash blonde swore under his breath, but followed him anyway. By the time he got there, Eijirou was already talking to him, ruffling his curly green hair and laughing. A spark of jealousy surged through Katsuki and he glared at the red head threateningly as their eyes met, but instead of getting scared of the deathly glare shot at him, Eijirou burst into loud laughter. A shudder ran down Katsuki’s spine as he realised what his friend was laughing at.  
  
“Oh my god Katsuki! Wait, stay here I need to get my phone and take a picture of this.” the red head snickered and turned to grab his stuff, but Katsuki managed to grab him by the collar of his shirt and held him back, growling,  
  
“If you do that I’ll kill you.”  
  
“Okay...I got it...” Eijirou squeaked, gasping for air as Katsuki yanked on the shirt, briefly cutting off his breath.  
  
“Whoa, what a cute flower crown dude. It totally suits you!” Denki said as he skated over to them. Katsuki punched him.  
  
“Anyway, I wanted to ask if we could borrow one of your boards for a bit. Katsuki said he’ll teach me how to skateboard.” Izuku asked finally.  
  
“I did not fucking say that/” the ash blonde interjected, but was completely ignored.  
  
“Katsuki? Teach? Ha, I’d like to see that.” Eijirou laughed and casually dodged the crutch flying towards him like a spear.  
  
“You can borrow mine for a bit.” Denki spoke up, “Kyouka and I were going to go on the rides at the festival soon.”  
  
“Kyouka?” Izuku asked confused, never having heard that name before,  
  
“His girlfriend.” Eijirou explained and Denki nodded, picking himself off the ground,  
  
“Here you go. Don’t kill anyone please.” he laughed as he handed Izuku the skateboard, “Good luck.”  
  
“Ah, when do you want it back?” Izuku yelled after him as he walked towards a purple haired girl.  
  
“Katsuki can just drop it off here tomorrow thanks.” Denki replied and then hurriedly ran away from Katsuki’s glares. Eijirou too, was beginning to pack his things.  
  
“Do you have a date too?” Izuku asked surprised and the red head laughed,  
  
“Nope, just going to enjoy the festival with some mates. You two have fun here.”  
  
“Okay, thank you. Bye!” Izuku called and then turned to Katsuki with an impish look on his features,  
  
“Now we have a board.”  
  
“You fucking little smart ass. You’re proud of yourself right now, aren’t you?” Katsuki hissed sourly, but he couldn’t stay mad at Izuku when he smiled so brightly.  
  
“Ugh fine, I’ll teach you but if you hurt yourself then don’t fucking start bawling, you hear me?” he growled defeated and Izuku beamed victoriously.  
  
“Thank you Kacchan!” he smiled and Katsuki’s heart skipped a beat. This was not good for his mental health. Annoyed, Katsuki gave Izuku a little shove and the freckled teen stumbled forwards surprised, landing with his right foot first.  
  
“Hey, what was that for?” he complained confused and Katsuki stared at him amused, muttering something along the lines of ‘of fucking course he’ll land on his right foot’, which only confused Izuku more.  
  
“When you skateboard, you have to find a stance which is most comfortable for you. The easiest way to find out which foot would be best at the front is by seeing which one you land on.” Katsuki explained calmly and Izuku found himself really liking this new side of Katsuki already. No cursing, no anger, nothing. Just Katsuki trying his best to use words to teach Izuku how to skate because he himself couldn’t physically demonstrate anything.  
  
“Are you even listening to me?” he snapped suddenly and Izuku nodded frantically, mentally kicking himself for spacing out like that.  
  
“Sorry, sorry, continue.” he said flustered and Katsuki glared at him for a moment, but then he nudged the skateboard onto a patch of grass and told Izuku to stand on it to get a feel for balance. Surprisingly, the freckled teen looked pretty damn steady balancing and jumping on the board, it kind of threw Katsuki off and he spent the next few minutes stuttering and fucking up his words as he told Izuku to move to the pavement.  
  
“Have you skated before?” Katsuki asked after a while as he watched the freckled teen effortlessly keeping his balance even after Katsuki gave the skateboard a rather rough shove with his crutches. Izuku hesitated and then replied,  
  
“No, I just have good balance.”  
  
Katsuki nodded slowly as Izuku shifted his weight a little and turned a corner back towards the ash blonde. Both of them didn’t see the large stone on the ground nor realise that the skateboard had enough speed to still send Izuku flying and he did. Right on top of Katsuki. Izuku yelped surprised. Katsuki cursed loudly. But they both landed safely on soft grass.  
  
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Oh my god are you okay?!” Izuku asked the grumbling ash blonde frantically and sat up rapidly to get off Katsuki, who in return shot annoyed glares at him and hissed,  
  
“Why is it that whenever you come near a skateboard I get to kiss the ground?!”  
  
“I’m so sorry...you were right though...I’m too clumsy huh.” Izuku apologised quietly and lay down in the grass beside the ash blonde, staring at the evening sky. Katsuki looked at him for a moment and then replied,  
  
“Everyone falls the first time. Actually, you did pretty fucking good for a beginner. I’m impressed.”  
  
Izuku was silent, but then a little smile made its way onto his lips and he scooted closer to Katsuki as he whispered,  
  
“Do you mean it?”  
  
Katsuki didn’t know how to respond to that and it took all his self-restraint not to kiss the freckles on Izuku’s cheeks or to tell him how fucking beautiful he looked right now, so he merely nodded. Izuku’s smile broadened and he let himself fall back onto the grass.  
  
“It was really fun too. Thank you Kacchan.” he said quietly and gave Katsuki the gentlest smile the ash blonde had ever seen. It’s safe to say that Katsuki almost died. He was silent for a moment and then finally replied,  
  
“Yeah. It was. I’m glad I decided to come along after all.”  
  
“Me too.” Izuku grinned and looked back up at the pink sky and laughed, “Look Kacchan, strawberry clouds.”  
  
“What?” the ash blonde deadpanned.  
  
“Strawberry clouds.” Izuku repeated, “That’s what I call pretty pink sunsets. Look, your flower crown matches the sky.”  
  
“You are so fucking weird.” Katsuki said flatly and Izuku laughed heartily. Katsuki couldn’t help but smile. It sure was pretty, those pink clouds and they reminded the ash blonde of the faint blush dusting Izuku’s cheeks. Right now, everything felt so perfect and complete with Izuku beside him he wished this moment would last forever. He’ll remember this day every time he sees strawberry clouds, he promised himself that. So then he could never forget Izuku, no matter what happened.  
  
At that moment, Katsuki fell in love all over again and this time, he didn’t mind at all.


	7. Hospital visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya~  
> It's been a while and I'm so sorry. I hope you've all been well ^.^  
>   
> With exams right around the corner I'm struggling to fit in anything besides study and I'd really hate to give you guys anything rushed so for the next few updates, as many of you might have already gathered, won't be updating every week, but rather once a month. In no way am I thinking of dropping this because it's just so much fun to write and I love these two ^.^  
>   
> Anyways~ from here on out the only way left to go is up, no? Yay I get to write tooth rotting fluff ^.^  
> Enjoy the chapter~

“Kacchan?!” Izuku yelped surprised as he almost collided with the ash blonde in a hospital corridor. Katsuki looked him over for a moment as if he was trying to make sure Izuku was alright, because they were in a hospital and all, but he seemed fine.  
  
“What are you doing here?” Izuku questioned confused and Katsuki narrowed his eyes at the freckled teen as he replied,  
  
“That’s supposed to be my line. I was here to get that stupid piece of shit off my leg, (he’s referring to the caster) so then why are you here?”  
  
“I uh...” Izuku shifted a little uncomfortably, but then he took a deep breath and answered, “I’m here to visit my mom.”  
  
The words hit Katsuki like a truck and he sort of just stared at Izuku, making the freckled teen squirm uncomfortably. He shouldn’t stare. He knew that and yet he didn’t know how to respond to that.  
  
Izuku lowered his gaze and forced a small smile as if he was used to this kind of reaction. He was, because that’s the same reaction everyone had. They’d look at him shocked and then treat him as if he was the one confined to a hospital room. Without fail, everyone said ‘I’m sorry’ and Izuku hated that because it wasn’t their fault at all. It was his and his alone.  
  
“Is your mom okay?” the question came as a surprise to Izuku and he must have looked utterly confused because Katsuki stuttered.  
  
“Shit, I mean...fuck...of course she’s...crap...”  
  
“It’s okay.” Izuku giggled and pointed down the hallway, “Her room is just over there. Do you want to come along? She’s been asking about you since I told her that you took care of me when I got sick.”  
  
Katsuki stared at him again, internal panic rising. There was no way he could go see his crush’s mom and not make a fool out of himself, or worse, make her hate him.  
  
“I don’t...think that’s a good idea.” he said reluctantly, gazing down the hallway. Izuku tilted his head a little, a disappointed pout appearing on his lips,  
  
“Why?” he asked.  
‘For that reason exactly!’ Katsuki thought as he glared at the freckled teen, fighting down the urge to punch that irritatingly adorable pout off his face.  
  
“Because I’d be intruding.” he said out loud and realised too late that that reason would never be enough for Izuku to stop pouting and yet he did. Only then without a word he just dragged Katsuki down the hallway and all the ash blonde could do was follow because holy fuck Izuku was strong.  
  
Izuku knocked softly on the door and then pulled out an electronic card to open it.  
  
“Hey mom!” he called as he dragged Katsuki into the room and closed the door behind him.  
  
“I’m on the balcony!” a cheerful voice called back and a fly screen rattled.  
  
“Come on.” Izuku whispered and tugged on Katsuki’s arm. The ash blonde frowned at him but relented. He was going to meet her sooner or later anyway. A little reluctantly, he limped after Izuku to the balcony where a short, plump woman stood, watering an array of beautiful flowers. She turned around and the first thing he noticed were her big green eyes. So that’s where Izuku got it from.  
  
“Izuku!” she beamed and gave her son a big hug, holding him for a little longer as if to savour the moment before she asked,  
  
“And who might this handsome young man be?”  
  
“This is Kac- I mean Katsuki.” Izuku replied and then turned to the ash blonde, “He was the one who took care of me.”  
  
“It’s nice...to meet...you” Katsuki pressed out, trying really hard to keep his vocabulary clean. Before he knew what was happening, he was also crushed in a hug.  
  
“Thank you so much.” Izuku’s mom whispered and let go, smiling at the ash blonde broadly, “My name is Inko. It’s so nice to meet you too!”  
  
“Mom, normally you hug someone after you introduce yourself.” Izuku laughed and Inko blushed embarrassed,  
  
“Oh dear, I’m sorry.”  
  
“It’s okay.” Katsuki replied, hiding his smile by looking out of the window instead, pretending to be interested in the little balcony garden. Izuku still saw it anyway.  
  
“So how have you been? How is school? Have you been taking care of yourself? Are you eating well? How is work? Have you spoken to Toshinori lately?” Inko questioned her son and the freckled teen laughed again, pulling up a chair for Inko to sit down before he replied,  
  
“Slow down mom! One question at a time please.”  
  
“I’m sorry, it’s been so long...” Inko sighed, “Then, have you been well?” she asked a slower and Katsuki couldn’t help but feel as if there was a little sadness in her voice. All of the sudden he really didn’t want to be here. This was Izuku’s time with his mother, a time, he felt, they didn’t have very often...and he was intruding.  
  
“I’ve been doing fine.” Izuku replied with a smile, “School is fine too, I’ve got exams coming up soon though.”  
  
“Oh well, nothing you can’t handle I’m sure.” Inko laughed proudly and looked at Katsuki, “How about you? How is school for you?”  
  
“My mom home schools me.” the ash blonde replied hesitantly. He should tell them that he didn’t want to intrude.  
  
“Oh really? She must be an excellent teacher then.” Inko said fascinated.  
  
“She’s alright.” Katsuki mumbled. He should leave and let them be alone.  
  
“Kacchan is really smart.” Izuku pointed out and grinned at the ash blonde, “He helped me a lot with homework when I fell behind.”  
  
“Good looking and smart.” Inko whistled and Katsuki glared daggers at Izuku. He had to leave before he ruined everything.  
  
“He is a really good skateboarder too. You should’ve seen him. He was flying!” Izuku told his mom excitedly. Flying. Hospital room. Katsuki froze. That was when he’d...He felt his face heat up just by thinking about it.  
  
“Are you alright?” Inko asked worriedly and Katsuki realised how red he’d gone. Crap.  
  
“I’m...yeah, I’m okay.” he replied quickly and Izuku frowned. This was a first.  
  
“I’ll go get some drinks for us, maybe that will help.” Izuku told them as he stood up. Katsuki didn’t even have time to stop him. Somewhere in his mind he knew that if he really wanted to, this was the time to leave and yet he couldn’t get himself to stand up so he stayed.  
  
“Is your leg alright?” Inko asked him and Katsuki followed her stare to the tender scar left behind from the surgery. He smiled a little, amused by how much Izuku and his mom had in common. She, who was sick and had to spend her time in a hospital was asking if he was alright.  
  
“Yeah, it’s fine. It was a little skating accident. Actually, I just got the cast off today.” he told her, surprised at how easy it was to speak to her without cursing or raising his voice. She just had that sort of calm aura about her.  
  
“Oh dear, I hope you can still skate!” Inko replied a little alarmed, confusing the ash blonde.  
  
“Yeah, I can. Doc says I just have to take it slow for a bit. There ain’t no way in - there’s no way a little break is going to be enough to stop me from winning.” he told her and Inko looked him over, a somewhat sadness shadowed her eyes, but then she smiled and said,  
  
“You have great passion. I’m sure you’ll reach your goal in no time.” she paused for a moment and opened her mouth, but then closed it just as quickly and blushed embarrassedly, “Oh deary me, I almost said something which is not my place to say.”  
  
Katsuki stared at her even more confused now, trying to figure out what she was implying, but before he could ask her, she asked him something instead.  
  
“What do you think of Izuku.”  
  
Katsuki hesitated. What was he supposed to tell her? He couldn’t lie to her...What he thought of Izuku huh...Katsuki smiled a little when he pictured the freckled teen. Those beautiful, big green eyes that sparkled whenever he smiled and those cute little dimples and the way his nose crinkled. His adorable curly hair which always looked as though he’d just woken up. His bright personality which melted away at Katsuki’s frozen heart. The way he spoke with him. His voice. His smell. Him. All of him...

  


“I’m in love with him.” 

  


A glass crashed to the floor behind him and water spilled over the floor at the feet of a flustered, freckled boy, face flushed a pretty pink and eyes wide. He heard it.  
  
Izuku stood there, thunderstruck and flustered, frozen to the spot. The shattered glass lay by his feet, water pooling around them. His face was burning and tears pricked at the corner of his eyes as he stared at Katsuki and the ash blonde stared back almost as startled as Izuku himself.  
  
No. Oh god no. He didn’t want to hear it like this. Not like this! He couldn’t pretend he didn’t hear it this time. There was no way he could feign ignorance. He wasn’t ready yet. He didn’t know. He couldn’t reply. Not yet.  
  
“Oh dear Izuku, are you alright?” Inko asked worriedly as she hasted to her son and began picking up the jagged shards.  
  
“Wait, mom, it’s alright, I’ll do it.” Izuku replied and moved to help her, but she held up her hand and whispered,  
  
“You have more important things to work out. Whatever you choose, you know I’ll support you.” she smiled at him warmly and Izuku was about ready to burst into tears at this point...but she was right.  
  
He stood up slowly and came face to face with a flustered Katsuki, his hands hidden deep in the pockets of his cargo pants and a furious flush heating his cheeks.  
  
“I-I should go. Thanks anyway though. I had fun.” he said quietly, earnestly. He looked down to Inko and quickly gathered the broken glass for her before he continued, “It was nice to meet you.” and then he left, brushing past Izuku without another word. He didn’t get too far though, before he heard Izuku yelling after him. He didn’t stop this time. He wasn’t angry or anything...but for some reason he was crying. He didn’t want Izuku to see that.  
  
“Kacchan please!” Izuku yelled. Ignored again. People in the hallways and lobby were giving them odd looks, but Izuku was past the point of caring. Katsuki was crying. He sped up again, falling into a sprint just as Katsuki walked through the hospital’s big entrance doors. For a split second, Izuku felt as though he couldn’t reach him - as if he didn’t deserve to. He hesitated, but then he gave himself a mental kick and ran after the ash blonde again.  
  
By the time he finally caught up, Izuku felt like his lungs were about to burst. With his hands on his knees he stood panting in front of Katsuki, blocking his path so the ash blonde wouldn’t keep walking.  
  
“I’m sorry.” Izuku gasped for air and forced himself to look at Katsuki, “I’m sorry.”  
  
“I don’t know why you think you have to apologise to me, so cut it out okay?!” the ash blonde replied. His voice sounded rough, strained, choked. Izuku shook his head and pulled out some tissues from his pocket, gently dabbing it beneath Katsuki’s eyes, drying the tears.  
  
“I made you cry. I’m sorry.” Izuku told him and Katsuki was far too surprised by what was happening to reply, so he just let Izuku do what he wanted.  
  
“Hey Kacchan I...” Izuku began after a moment of silence, halting the gentle brushed over the ash blonde’s cheeks. He hesitated, unsure of what to say next, trying to find the right words, but he couldn’t.  
  
“Yeah. I know. It’s fine.” he replied finally, so quietly Izuku almost missed it. It wasn’t fine. It wasn’t fine at all. Unrequited love was one of the most painful things in this world. Izuku knew that better than anyone, and yet he also knew that a one-sided relationship was equally agonizing.  
  
Izuku offered him a small, forced smile and felt his lips began to quiver. Automatically his hands found their way to his face to hide the tears overflowing onto his cheeks.  
  
He felt as Katsuki carefully pried them away and held them tightly, placing a gentle kiss on Izuku’s knuckles, sending a bolt of lightning surging through the freckled teen.  
  
“I’ll wait for you as long as you want me to. I promise.” Katsuki whispered and Izuku knew that he meant it too. He promised himself he wouldn’t make Katsuki wait long.

  



	8. Izuku Midoriya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHHHH OMG I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. HONESTLY, I THOUGHT THAT ONCE FINALS WERE OVER I WOULD BE ABLE TO UPDATE AGAIN BUT THEN LIFE GOT IN THE WAY AND SO MUCH STUFF HAPPENED. Please forgive me T.T
> 
>  
> 
> So here is chapter 8, and I hope chapter 9 will follow soon after!   
> Enjoy~

That night Izuku lay in his bed, sobbing into his pillow, unable to understand the emotional turmoil inside of him. What was he thinking...what on earth was he thinking?! He knew...he KNEW how much it hurt to wait for someone. How much it hurt to say ‘it’s fine’ when really every fiber of his very being screamed at him that it wasn’t fine. It hurt and he knew the pain all too well...so why, how...how could he ever put another person through this?!  
  
This wasn’t the way it was supposed to end...he just...didn’t know...he didn’t want to give Katsuki a half-assed answer without finding it first, after all, lying about love was equally as horrible as being rejected. He knew that too and yet...he made Katsuki cry.  
  
When Katsuki had first said that he loved him, Izuku was happy beyond belief. For someone to love him...he didn’t think it possible. After all these years of constant heart break someone actually loved him. But now that he knew...Katsuki awaited his answer...Izuku didn’t know. He was fond of Katsuki, there was no doubt in his mind. His beautiful eyes, his devious grin, his voice, his smell. It made Izuku feel safe and yet there was this constant uncertainty. It wasn’t Katsuki’s fault at all. It was just how Izuku was. He never felt good enough.  
  
For a moment he thought about just bursting into Katsuki’s room in the middle of the night but he realised that would either only lead to more misunderstandings or jail. He swatted the idea out of the air and groaned into his tear stained pillow. He couldn’t sleep like this.  
  
Sluggishly, Izuku swung his legs over the edge of his bed and tiptoed through the house until he stood at the front door, hand resting on the doorknob. Only then did he realise that he was alone at home. No mother to scold him, no father to tell him to go back to bed. He opened the door and the cool night air brushed through his messy hair. It felt nice.  
  
He shut the door behind himself and as it clicked he realised he didn’t take his keys. Izuku couldn’t help but laugh. What an idiot he really was. He sighed deeply and pushed himself away from the door. He didn’t feel like going back inside anytime soon anyway. He’d think about it later.  
  
The road felt strange beneath his bare feet. He hadn’t gone out this late in a long time. Back then, he’d done it often. It always helped him think. He wandered down the deserted street, avoiding the street lights. He didn’t want to speak to anyone right now.  
  
Just like back then, his legs unconsciously carried him to the small park at the end of the street. He stood still for a moment, his hand resting on the small gate, his eyes staring ahead into the dark. There it was. That swing he had spent so many restless nights on. That tree he climbed in the hopes of finding an answer between the twisted branches. The slide that offered a place to lie down when he got too tired to sit. It was all there, as if the two years had merely been a dream and he had never stopped coming here.  
  
He walked to the swing, stupidly running his hand along the rusted metal. When the hell had he become so sentimental. He smiled a little as he sat down and gently pushed away with his feet. It really had been a long time since he came here. A part of him couldn’t believe that he had never even thought about this place in those two years. Even though it held so many special memories for him and his family.  
  
He looked up at the stars, just like he had done many nights before and let his mind wander in the endlessness of the night sky. He was so lost in thoughts that he didn’t notice a figure approaching in the dark until a heavy hand landed on his left shoulder and a yelp of pain escaped him. Immediately, the hand retreated. Izuku halted his swinging and spun around alarmed. It was dark, but he recognized that spiky hair anywhere.  
  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Katsuki’s voice cut through the night. Izuku didn’t know if he was horrified or relieved to see the ash blonde. He smiled even though he knew Katsuki wouldn’t be able to see it and replied,  
  
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”  
  
“That’s not what it sounded like.” Katsuki frowned and Izuku could hear the concern in his voice. He really had changed so much since they met. He’d become so much more caring, so much gentler. He’d opened up to Izuku completely. The freckled teen smiled again and replied quietly,  
  
“There’s a lot I still haven’t told you about myself, huh...”  
  
Katsuki didn’t know what to respond to that. It was true. Apart from the fact that his mom was in hospital and that he was befriended with All Might, Katsuki didn’t know very much about Izuku’s private life.  
  
“Do you want to know more?” Izuku asked him quietly and Katsuki hesitated. After a moment he replied,  
  
“Do you want to tell me more?”  
  
Izuku snickered and stood up,  
  
“I think...I owe you an explanation about everything.”  
  
“Don’t force yourself.” Katsuki frowned as Izuku pulled him to a small bench. Izuku shook his head and gave another smile,  
  
“I want you to know.”  
  
“Alright.”  
  
Izuku sat down on the bench beside the ash blonde, pulling his knees to his chest. He took a deep breath and said,  
  
“Two years ago, I was a gymnast competing at international level. I did everything from beam to rings to parallel bars to high bar to vault, pommel horse and floor exercise. My mom was my coach. She is a retired international level gymnast herself. It was sort of a family hobby which became more than that. Although she never won anything major, she was still amazing. Anyway, I can’t really remember much, but I think it was a tournament to qualify for the Youth Olympics in China. A few weeks before, my mom had taught me a new move she wanted me to try out on the beam. It was pretty simple actually. Just a small side flip, nothing more, nothing less. In practice, I fell a few times, but none of them were bad. Just a few bruises here and there.  
  
Still, it was enough for my mom to decide that I shouldn’t try it in the competition. ‘Too dangerous’ she said. Well, you can imagine that at 14 years of age, you try to prove your worth to the people you look up most, right? My mom was my idol, still is...so I went against her will and attempted the flip in my routine...” Izuku broke off and pulled his knees close to his chest.  
  
“And you fell.” Katsuki finished for him.  
  
“And I fell.” Izuku echoed. He took a deep breath and continued, “I don’t really remember anything afterwards, but I do remember the pain. That’s not something so easily forgotten, you know? I hit the beam with such force that I shattered my left shoulder into tiny pieces, broke my collar bone and three ribs.” He took a shaky breath and croaked, “They said that I was lucky the shattered bones didn’t puncture my lungs and heart. That I was lucky to have even survived that fall.  
  
I spent three months in hospital and half a year in rehab. I had to quit gymnastics because even though they were able to surgically piece my shoulder together again, it never healed correctly and even now, two years later, it still hurts when I move it a certain way.” he lifted his left arm a little, “This is as far as it can go without risking another injury.” He put it back down and looked at Katsuki for the first time since he began to talk, “When someone touches it, sometimes it can hurt too. I’m so broken.” he laughed bitterly, but before Katsuki could say anything, he continued,  
  
“My mom blamed herself for what happened. Her mental health declined. She developed depression and anxiety. She didn’t let me do anything. Handled me like fragile china even after I left rehab. She pulled me out of school and tried to home school me, all while handling two jobs at the same time to pay for my medical bills. To put it short...she literally worked herself to death. She had a heart attack at work one day and since then her health has been up and down. Sometimes it seems as though she’s perfectly healthy and shouldn’t be in the hospital and the next day she’s unable to speak because she too weak.” Izuku started to cry then, “She blames herself for everything that happened. She blames herself for my injuries even though it was me who chose to ignore her warning.”  
  
Katsuki didn’t know what to say to that. To think that Izuku had been carrying such a heavy burden this entire time. Katsuki had always felt as though there was more to the freckled teen’s personality than what meets the eye. Without a word, he grabbed Izuku’s arm and pulled the boy into a tight embrace. Izuku didn’t push him away. He just cried and let Katsuki hold him.  
  
“I’m sorry Izuku. I had no idea...” Katsuki whispered. Izuku shook his head a little and mumbled into the ash blonde’s shirt,  
  
“You have nothing to say sorry for. I’m the one who should say sorry. I’m so confused Kacchan...I don’t know what I’m doing. Up until I met you, my days drifted by me like some sort of dream. Go to school, work, shop, pay bills, do homework, sleep, repeat. Then you came along and ripped me out of that never ending routine. You have no idea how thankful I am to you and then I go and break your heart. I’m really the worst. I can’t do anything right.”  
  
Katsuki was silent again.  
  
“Izuku...” he began after while, “You are the kindest person I have ever met. You are the first person who saw me for me, even when all I did was make life incredibly difficult for you. You made me smile even when I didn’t want to and to be honest I hate that about you a little.” he broke off as he heard Izuku snicker in his arms and glared daggers and the freckled teen.  
  
“But, I hate seeing you like this even more. That’s not the Izuku I know. The Izuku I know is always smiling, always happy, always ready to help those in need. It’s part of you, yes, it’s part of what made you you, but...and maybe it’s not my place to say... you are so much more than that.” he continued after a moment. New tears began to well up in Izuku’s eyes as Katsuki spoke and he had to try so hard not to sob too much into his shirt.  
  
“Why are you saying such kind things to me after what I did to you today?” Izuku asked confused between hiccups. Katsuki smiled a little and his hand ran through Izuku’s messy bed hair.  
  
“Because you were crying too.” he replied quietly. At first Izuku didn’t understand and Katsuki must have realised and replied, “Sorry, I though that would sound cool. What I mean is, or at least what I secretly hope is...that...” he swallowed hard, “you’re not being very honest with yourself. Hell, what should I know about you...but as cheesy and cliche as it sounds...there was something in your voice, something in your eyes. Utter confusion...that’s probably the best way to describe it. And I get it now. I’ve never had a broken heart before...but you have, haven’t you?”  
  
“There was a girl I met at gymnastics...I loved her for a long time. When I told her she said she wasn’t ready for another relationship. I respected that, but I never stopped loving her. A few moths later we dated for a little...it was a one-sided kind of love. She only used me to get a better reputation amongst the other gymnasts. I was nothing but a tool for her. In the end, I caught her cheating on me. That was maybe the year before I injured myself.” Izuku replied reluctantly, “I was thirteen and blinded by stupidity...just like I always have been. And now I turned out to be no better than that girl.”  
  
“You know...I never really asked you out or anything.” Katsuki said quietly, “I mean...I’m a guy and all so I guess it would be a little weird...”  
  
“It’s not weird.” Izuku interrupted, “At least, I don’t think its weird. You can’t choose who you fall in love with. That’s what I believe anyway.” he sat up a little then, just enough so that he was facing Katsuki, “When I’m with you, Kacchan, every worry, every pain, all my stress and unhappiness...it just fades away. When I’m with you, I’m happy.”  
  
“I feel the same way.” Katsuki replied quietly. More quietly than before. “I didn’t know what I was feeling for a while...hell I still don’t fully understand it and it irritates me. Every time I look at you my chest tightens and I can’t help but grin like a fucking idiot. You’ve messed me up so bad I swear to fucking god Deku.”  
  
“I’m sorry.” Izuku replied earnestly, “It would be rather stupid if I just suddenly changed my mind about this whole situation huh...”  
  
Katsuki was silent again. He wanted nothing more than for Izuku to love him back and yet, it felt so forced all of the sudden. He shook his head and said,  
  
“You do what you must. Like I said before, I’ll wait for you for as long as you want me to.”  
  
“It feels so wrong.” Izuku whispered. Katsuki didn’t understand what he meant. Instead of asking he changed the subject.  
  
“It’s getting cold. Come on, you should go home.”  
  
Home. Izuku almost laughed. He was still locked out. A small laugh escaped him anyway, completely puzzling the ash blonde.  
  
“You go home. I’m going to stay here a little longer.” he said quietly and Katsuki stared at him for a moment.  
  
“No.” he deadpanned.  
  
“What?” Izuku asked startled and Katsuki stood up suddenly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts and replied,  
  
“I said no. You’re not staying here all by yourself. It’s cold and its dark.”  
  
“Seriously, it’s fine. I used to do this all the time.”  
  
“Right. And I still don’t care.” the ash blonde said flatly. Izuku pouted, realising that this was just another losing battle. He sighed and admitted that he had locked himself out. He hadn’t counted on Katsuki laughing and even though the ash blonde’s laugh was always something which cheered him up, this time he couldn’t help but feel mocked. In a way it was still funny though.  
  
“Can’t be helped then. I’ll break in for you.” Katsuki said a little too seriously and Izuku couldn’t actually tell if he was joking or not so he just replied,  
  
“You can do that?”  
  
“Who do you take me for?” Katsuki asked with a playful edge to his voice and still Izuku wasn’t sure if he should believe the ash blonde. Turns out Katsuki was actually 100% serious and would have broken the back window if Izuku hadn’t stopped him.  
  
“How do you suppose I’d pay for a broken window huh?” Izuku asked with perhaps a little too much attitude considering Katsuki was only trying to help. In his defense, he was annoyed at himself for following Katsuki from the park and the fact that he would probably have to resort to smashing a window to get in in the end anyway.  
  
“Ah fuck. That’s right. I didn’t think that far ahead.” Katsuki muttered, “Alright, come one then, you can stay the night at my place and then I’ll pick the lock in the morning when i have more light.”  
  
Katsuki’s carefree words took Izuku by surprise and he just stared at the ash blonde for a while. He, who had rejected and shattered Katsuki’s heart mere hours before was now being invited to stay the night. By all accounts, Katsuki should hate him.  
  
“But...I...you...hold on...I...but...” Izuku stuttered and Katsuki rolled his eyes in the dark and grabbed the freckled teen’s wrist, dragging him towards his house. In his mind, he’d already forgiven Izuku. He only hoped Izuku would forgive himself too.  
  
Reluctantly at first, Izuku let Katsuki drag him along the road without really putting up a fight. He was sort of thankful that Katsuki had forcefully invited him over because otherwise he might have had to spend the night outside.  
  
Katsuki glanced over his shoulder and a small grin stole itself onto his features as he spied Izuku’s embarrassed blush. How he was going to explain Izuku to his mother the next morning, was a problem for later. Right now, he just wanted to be there for him. After all, he still loved the stupid fool even after what he had said. Hell, if Katsuki was completely honest with himself, he felt as though the entire day was just one big joke and he only just woke up. If Izuku truly didn't want anything to do with him, he'd be long gone. But he's right there, holding onto his hand, following him home... 

  



	9. The start of something new

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~  
> Please save me.  
>   
>   
> Anyway, sorry for the wait, but chapter 9 finally done! Yay  
>   
>   
> Now back to the darkness I call school x.x

Katsuki sat on his bed, face burning bright red, attempting to smother himself with a pillow. What time was it? 9, 10? Too early for him for sure, but he couldn’t fall back to sleep no matter how hard he tried. There was just too much going on inside his head.  
  
He shifted a little, propping himself up on his elbow to enjoy the rare opportunity of being able to admire all Izuku’s beautiful freckles, and the messy yet gentle curls, and the way his fingers were curled up around the blanket. Katsuki felt his face heat up and he shook his head. This was new to him. At what point had inviting, I’m sorry I mean dragging his crush over for a sleepover been a good idea? He was dead tired. Again, at what point last night had he expected for them to just go to sleep. And no, there is no kinky stuff implied here thanks, lets keep it Pg.  
  
The pillow over his face muddled an exasperated sigh as he flung himself into the sheets the way a high school girl would when swooning over a boy and it only aggravated his irritability more, because technically speaking he was swooning over a boy. A very cute boy. His eyes wandered to the floor where the messy mop of green hair peeked out from under a blanket. A part of him wanted Izuku to wake up, say good morning, show him that sleepy expression he wore last night, and yet another part just couldn’t be bothered dealing with anything right now.  
  
Still, Katsuki caught himself smiling again as Izuku murmured something inaudible. He was just so cute, the ash blonde didn’t know what to do with himself. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm his racing heart, but his mind wandered off again without his consent and filled his head with memories of last night. The hurt of the past day was partially forgotten, not solved, but accepted and apologised for, and he felt as though he understood the freckled teen a whole lot better now. Another piece of the puzzle fit.  
  
Amongst showing Izuku that new game he had just bought and telling him to shut up, deep conversations about the past, the present and the future had sparked between them. They were the kind you’d promised yourself never to talk about and yet when your guard is down they just slip out. The sort you only reveal when you are most comfortable, the sort that are told in hushed whispers full of emotion in the safety of one's own room. The kind that reveals one's vulnerabilities and secrets.The kind that lie the closest to one's heart...like Katsuki's cat, the cat died a long time ago so why the fuck did he have to tell Izuku about that childhood trauma. Either way it had been weird. This never happened when Eijirou and Kaminari stayed over. It felt so…girly. He cringed inwardly, and yet he was glad Izuku had opened up to him so much and if he was completely honest with himself, he was also glad that he could open up to Izuku.  
  
A part of him wanted to reach down, run his hand through Izuku’s hair and hold him close and yet he was afraid of breaking the fragile bond they had built over the last few months. He couldn’t let himself slip like he had yesterday. If he ruined whatever this was, he’d never forgive himself. That being said, as always, his mind had a hard time catching up with his actions and by the time it did, Katsuki was already gently curling Izuku's hair around his fingers. So soft.  
  
He hadn’t realised he’d been staring for long when Izuku stirred and scared the living daylights out of him. He felt his face begin to burn again and quickly fled beneath the covers, turning his back to the freckled teen.  
A loud yawn sounded from the floor and Katsuki held his breath. Silence. Then suddenly, Izuku bolted upright, again scaring Katsuki half to death. A shocked gasp came from behind him and then,  
“Kacchan.”  
  
It sounded so pitiful it made Katsuki’s stomach churn. Had he been awake when he was running his hand through his hair? Slowly, as though he was just waking up, Katsuki turned around, the blanket pulled over his nose and a fake scowl masked his red face, ready to curse at the freckled teen. But it all fell apart when his eyes met Izuku’s. He was on the brink of tears, face void of colour and phone in hand.  
  
“I overslept.” Izuku whispered, “I overslept and now I’m going to be late for work. Mr. Aizawa is actually going to kill me this time.”  
  
“Deku.” Katsuki said. Thank god he hadn't been discovered.  
  
“There’s nothing he hates more than tardiness. What would I do if he fires me?!” Izuku babbled on, his voice slowly rising in pitch.  
  
“Deku.” Katsuki tried again.  
  
“If he fires me I won’t be able to buy medicine or pay the bills. They’ll send her home and then what? She’ll die!” the freckled boy was on the brink of panic, anxiously mumbling incoherent phrases and biting down on his lower lip.  
  
“Deku.”  
  
“I shouldn’t have come here after all!”  
  
That did it.  
  
“Izuku!” Katsuki snapped and the boy shrank into himself startled. Wide-eyed he looked at Katsuki and the ash blonde sat up, the ghost of a scowl etched into his brows.  
  
“It’s Sunday. You don’t work on Sunday’s anymore. Go back to sleep.” He told Izuku. The freckled boy stopped for a minute, blinked twice and mechanically turned towards the digital alarm clock beside Katsuki’s bed. Sunday 11:04am. He blinked again as if to makes sure he wasn’t going insane. Still Sunday, 11:05. Silence.  
  
Slowly Izuku reached for a pillow and then smacked it against his face, very much mimicking Katsuki’s earlier attempts of smothering himself and fell back into the futon. He lay there, arms outstretched, pillow covering his face.  
  
“I’m an idiot.” He said, words muffled and quiet through the pillow, but Katsuki knew he said it with force.  
  
“Yes.” Katsuki answered and Izuku lifted the pillow to give him a weak glare.  
  
“It’s too early for this.” He grumbled and let it drop again. Katsuki snorted amused.  
  
“It’s 11.” He corrected.  
  
“My point exactly.” Izuku replied, turning his head towards Katsuki and the pillow slid off. His face was burning red and Katsuki wasn’t sure if it was because he was embarrassed or because the pillow had smothered him. Either way, it was adorable.  
  
“Are you okay now?” Katsuki asked after a while and Izuku nodded, yawning sleepily, that pretty pink blush still gracing his cheeks. Katsuki had this sudden urge to just lean down and kiss that boy because he could if he wanted to and why the fuck was he letting his mind wander like this again?!  
  
“Good morning.” Izuku smiled. There goes Katsuki’s heart. Before he had time to answer though, someone suddenly knocked on the door. He also didn’t have time to mentally prepare himself for his mother before said door burst open.  
  
“Katsuki I thought I told you to-!” she broke off, eyes falling onto the started boy cowering on the floor before her. To her, he looked like this terrified little puppy. Where had she seen those eyes before?  
She looked from Izuku to Katsuki and back. From terrified to angry. She didn't know Katsuki had any friends over, let alone any, and most importantly one that looked so frail. It didn't compliment her son's...uh...everything really.  
  
“I thought I told you to wait after you knock you hold hag!” Katsuki snapped and Izuku flinched.  
  
“Shut up idiot son. That’s not how you speak to your mother!” the woman yelled back. Izuku couldn’t help but snicker then. Those two. Now at least he knew where Katsuki got his explosive temper from. He felt their eyes shift to stare at him and he bit his tongue.  
  
“Sorry...” he whispered and prayed to god they weren’t going to kill him. They didn’t. Instead, Katsuki’s mom crouched down and smiled gently, the same rare smile Katsuki sometimes had.  
  
“Hello. My name is Mitsuki Bakugou.”  
  
Mitsuki. Izuku snickered internally. It almost rhymes with Katsuki. He realised she was staring at him and a bright blush exploded onto his face,  
  
“A-ah, where are my manners.” He stammered and quickly crawled to his knees, bowing to her politely,  
  
“I’m Izuku Midoriya. Sorry for intruding. It’s nice to meet you.”  
  
Mitsuki broke into loud laughter and ruffled through Izuku’s bed hair, but let’s face it, it couldn’t get any messier anyway. Katsuki jumped out of his bed and snapped,  
  
“Keep your hands to yourself, will you?!”  
  
“And you keep your mouth shut for once!” she snapped back and they were glaring at each other again. Izuku couldn’t help but grin. Something told him he was going to spend more time here…and he didn’t mind at all. 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The slumped to the breakfast table, the delicious smell gently rousing them. It had been a while since Izuku had sat at Sunday breakfast with a family and the warmth, despite the bickering, was comforting. And yet, all the same, he felt an unbearable sadness. He missed his mom so dearly and just how much he never knew apart from moments like this.  
  
Katsuki saw his fading smile and stopped bickering with his mother. He shifted in his seat so he was sitting upright and looked at Izuku for a moment. That’s all he really needed to realise what was going through Izuku’s head. His eyes wandered over the table to some freshly baked bread and he gently nudged Izuku,  
  
“Hey, why don’t we go visit her later and bring her this?” he asked as he picked up a roll. Izuku smiled a little again and nodded,  
  
“Yeah, I think that’s a great idea.”  
  
Mitsuki gave them a confused stare and her husband had lowered the newspaper a little. Katsuki being nice to someone? What?  
  
“Don’t look at me like that.” Their son growled irritatedly and put the roll back down. Izuku looked away. He knew those kinds of stares a little too well. They were questioning stares. They didn’t know Katsuki was talking about his mom, he’d never mentioned her, but somehow it just felt like that. Why are you alone? Where is your mom? Those kinds of stares.  
  
“So Izuku, you go to the school near here, yeah?” Mitsuki asked suddenly as if she realised she was making him uncomfortable.  
  
“Yes, I do.” Izuku replied a little stiffly, trying to wrap his head around the change the subject. After a moment, he added, “I’m a third year there.”  
  
“Oh what a coincidence, Katsuki is a third year as well. Although he sometimes goes to a private school where my husband teaches. Mostly I just home-school him because he is constantly suspended.” Mitsuki replied as she handed him a coffee, “If only the boy would be willing to learn then maybe the school fees wouldn’t feel like such a waste of money.”  
  
Katsuki glared at her and Izuku looked rather surprised.  
  
“What do you mean? Katsuki knows a whole lot more than I do. I was sick not too long ago and he helped me with homework. I think he just does things in a different way to everyone else.” The freckled teen defended Katsuki. Mitsuki blinked and looked from her son to Izuku. This was unbelievable. Katsuki, helping someone. What? Was this her son? The son that threw punches at anyone and everyone? The son that spent half his school life in the principal's office because of something he said or did? The son that failed every second test, and walked out of class because it was boring? Then again, she felt like this little frail boy knew a lot more about her son that what he was letting on. She was glad someone saw past Katsuki's rough exterior and found his golden heart. He was a lot like her that way. She regarded the freckled teen a little more closely. He looked so familiar it was almost annoying now. Ah...she knew now. It had been a long time...a long time indeed. Then she smiled and sat down. Not another word was said by her for a while.  
  
Izuku felt bad to shooting his mouth off and squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. Katsuki found it all too funny and his father had retreated behind the newspaper. 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They stood in front of Izuku’s door, staring at the lock. It felt like it was mocking them. An inanimate object was mocking them. They were going insane.  
  
It felt more like a game than anything else. Izuku handed Katsuki his tools like a nurse in the surgery room while the ash blonde picked the lock. A cross between playing spies and doctors. Izuku shook his head. Oh god, if they played that now that would just be weird.  
  
It was an old building so it only took Katsuki what, maybe two minutes to pick the lock and tada, the door was open. It was cold inside the house, naturally, no one had been home to turn on the heating all night. Izuku turned on the light and a shiver ran down his spine. It wasn’t the cold though, no, it was Katsuki behind him playing creepy music.  
  
“Stop that.” Izuku hissed hoarsely, unaware of how quiet his voice was. Katsuki’s laugh almost made him jump. It was much louder. The two of them entered the apartment, Izuku headed to the kitchen to prepare some things he wanted to take along to see his mom and Katsuki got stuck at the old photos in the hallway again.  
  
It was All Might. The regionals had proven that. He squinted his eyes as if trying to find another hidden person in the picture.  
  
“Hey Deku!” he called, “Come here for a second.”  
  
“Hm?” the freckled teen walked over to him and Katsuki pointed at a corner of one of the pictures,  
  
“Look, doesn’t that shadow back there look like a creepy person? Maybe you’re being stalked.” He said nonchalantly and Izuku leaned in further, trying to make out the shadow Katsuki was talking about. He was right. It did look ghoulish. So much, in fact, it gave him the creeps. Suddenly something grabbed his arms from the back and gave his body a small shake. A pathetic little yelp tore itself from Izuku’s lips and Katsuki laughed, releasing the startled boy.  
  
“Boo!” he joked and Izuku then proceeded to hit him on the arm numerous times all while crying about how mean Katsuki is.  
  
As they left, Izuku triple double checked he had the keys this time and closed the door, following the ash blonde down the stairs. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shivered.  
  
“Sure is cold today.” He complained.  
  
“It’s finally autumn.” Katsuki echoed and playfully bumped his shoulder into Izuku, “Want me to scare you again so you warm up?”  
  
“Over my dead body.” Izuku growled and Katsuki laughed.  
  
Casually they strolled down the street, getting lost in one of those meaningless conversations, but it was nice. No awkward atmosphere, nothing. Izuku smiled into his scarf. He was glad that yesterday was slowly fading into distant memory.  
  
“Ah Deku…” Katsuki began, but his voice didn’t reach Izuku in time and the freckled boy walked into a pole. It wasn’t a hard collision considering they’d only been strolling, but the impact left Izuku with a little red mark on his forehead. Above all it was hilarious and both of them stood there snickering for a while.  
  
“I had it coming.” Izuku laughed and rubbed his aching forehead as Katsuki picked up the shopping bag the freckled teen had dropped on impact. As Izuku held out his hand to take the bag back, Katsuki shook his head and said,  
  
“Nah it’s cool I can carry it.”  
  
They walked on in silence, autumn leaves crunching beneath their shoes. Dark clouds in the distance dulled the glare of the sun and painted a soothing sort of light onto the neighborhood. A chilly breeze crept into their clothes and they unconsciously shuffled close together. Izuku breathed into his hands, trying to warm them up. Katsuki glanced at him and smiled a little. Izuku’s nose and cheeks were red from the cold and the way he was rubbing his hands together was just too cute.  
  
“Hey Kacchan…” Izuku began and for a moment Katsuki thought he’d been caught staring, but the Izuku continued, “I was thinking…”  
  
“Don’t think too hard you’ll hurt yourself.” Katsuki teased and the freckled teen shot him a small glare.  
  
“I was thinking,” Izuku said a little louder, “I want to spend more time with you, like that time at the festival and when you used to come to the café all the time. I know you won’t easily forget what happened yesterday and I won’t blame you if you don’t trust me anymore but…” he broke off and stopped walking, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other, staring at the ground like some high school girl confessing her love to her crush and Katsuki felt as though he was going to confess or something. Izuku took a deep breath and looked up,  
  
“I like being with you. You make me so happy I get confused about everything. I can’t be mad at you even when you’re being an asshole…” he broke off again and Katsuki decided to ignore the insult in favour of finding out what was on Izuku’s mind.  
  
“I know it’s a selfish request, especially after yesterday, but please…allow me to stay by your side and hang out with you and just leave what happened in the past.” The freckled teen finally pressed out and a blush exploded onto his face.  
  
There was a brief silence and it took every bit of Katsuki’s will power not to smile like an idiot and spill his feelings all over Izuku again.  
  
“I’d like that.” He replied finally, trying not to sound too fucking happy about it, but he felt as though that was partially impossible.  
  
“Eh?” Izuku uttered and blinked twice, trying to wrap his head around the answer. He hadn’t expected Katsuki to just give him the answer without teasing him or laughing at him or even getting angry at him for suggesting they’d be able to just go back to the way it was. Instead, Katsuki was happy about it. At least Izuku thought he was happy about it. His grin looked a little creepy.  
  
Izuku really did feel like he was in an anime right then. The wind picked up as they stood facing each other, neither knowing what to say next. The ominous rain clouds had crept closer, the soothing light going dark. They still had a fair way to go to the hospital and as Izuku looked up to study the clouds he realised they probably wouldn’t make it there before it started raining. But he didn’t want to turn back either. After he’d stormed out after Katsuki yesterday he’d returned to the hospital room in tears. That’s not how he wanted to spend time with his mom at all and it was Katsuki’s first time meeting her too…he had to set this right.  
  
“You look stupid.” Katsuki’s voice cut through his thoughts and Izuku glared at him, a pout forming on his lips.  
  
“You’re as kind as ever.” He grumbled but really, how could he be mad. Katsuki seemed to have forgiven him. What more could he ask for.  
  
“It’s gonna rain soon.” Katsuki remarked as he turned, the wind tousling through his spiky hair. He looked so damn nice right then, it made Izuku’s heart skip a beat. Forget the rain, there were more important things to stare at.  
  
“What’s your plan Deku?” the ash blonde asked, throwing Izuku a sidewards glance, quite pleased with the fact that it was Izuku ogling him for once. Izuku shrank into himself, aware of what he was doing and stammered,  
  
“A-ah let’s keep going, we’ve already come this far, it’d be a waste of food to turn back now.” 

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first raindrops fell in heavy clumps, and seconds after it was a torrential downpour. It took them by surprise out in the open, the nearest dry place was at least a good 100 meters away. It was also on the other side of a busy road.  
  
“Deku, if you trust me, close your eyes.” Katsuki whispered and Izuku looked at him confused. His spikey hair stuck to his face in clumps, and trails of water ran down his face. Why did he say to close his eyes? Was it because he looked adorable and about 100% less threatening when his hair was wet? Izuku closed his eyes. He did trust Katsuki. What harm would it do anyway?  
  
His hand was promptly seized and his body lurched unpleasantly as he was pulled forwards. Immediately he forced his eyes open. They were in the middle of the busy road. Katsuki was holding his hand, dragging him towards the other side, just barely missing the masses of cars going either way. Horns sounded at them and Izuku squeezed his eyes shut again, clinging onto Katsuki’s hand for dear life. Then it was over. They stood on the other side under cover.  
  
“You can open your eyes now.” Katsuki said quietly and Izuku rapidly shook his head, keeping his eyes squeezed shut. People were staring at them, but Katsuki didn’t really care. Izuku trusted him enough to close his eyes when Katuski asked. It sparked a sort of warmth in him he normally despised, but right now, it just made him unbelievably happy.  
  
“We’re on the other side of the street, it’s fine now.” Katsuki tried again. No reaction. He sighed a little and rested his hand on the freckled boy’s forehead, “Izuku, you’re safe. Open your eyes.”  
  
There was a small hesitation, but the Izuku slowly opened his eyes. Katsuki left his hand there for a little while longer until he felt as though Izuku wouldn’t go and push him right in front of an oncoming car.  
  
“Geez that was so reckless you idiot!” Izuku scolded with a pout on his lips, “We could’ve been seriously injured or worse!”  
  
Katsuki turned away a little, running his hand through his wet hair in a futile attempt to get it to spike up again. No use. He’ll just have to wait till the hospital.  
  
“Hey are you even listening to me?” Izuku asked annoyed and the ash blonde turned back to him,  
  
“I am, not much, but I am.” He looked down at their hands still tightly holding onto each other, “Besides,” he said as he looked up again, a small smug grin on his lips, “we made it across just fine like this.”  
  
“You are unbelievable.” Izuku sighed exasperatedly. At least it was dry here. And he was still holding Katsuki’s hand. And Katsuki looked really cute with his hair all wet. So maybe he wasn’t all that mad.  
  
“As are you.” Katsuki shot back teasingly. They walked down the empty sidewalk, running from cover to cover. Neither wanted to tell the other that they were still holding hands, nor did they want to let go. By the time they made it to the hospital, they were soaked to the skin, much to Inko’s dismay. Katsuki got a cold in the following days. But hey, it was all worth it in the end. After all, he had Izuku back.

  



	10. A date of firsts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your support ^.^ I love reading all of your comments even if it takes me so damn long to reply all the time T.T  
>   
> Anyway, here you go~  
> A long chapter for a long absence. I am so sorry. This took way longer to write than I thought it would. T.T  
>   
> Enjoy~

It was a chilly day - the sort that left little clouds of breath as you spoke and hands were generally hidden away in pockets unless they were needed for something. There was a frosty bite to the air that made your nose and ears cold no matter how warm you were elsewhere and smelled of metallic frost which always seemed to make it feel colder than it actually was.  
  
Izuku pulled his bag from his locker, damn near tipping over his coffee cup, sending a bolt of lightning surging through him as he fumbled to steady it. All day he’d been a nervous wreck. It wasn’t like he’d never been on a date before, it had just been a long time since he did and well, this was Katsuki he was going with…it was a little scary, he’ll admit that…but then again, he wouldn’t want it any other way.  
  
“Midoriya.”  
  
Izuku almost jumped as the loud voice sounded from right beside him. He calmed his racing heart, trying to make it look as though his friend hadn’t just scared the living daylights out of him as he continued to pack his things and replied,  
  
“Oh, hey Iida.”  
  
“I’m sorry for scaring you, but are you coming?” Iida asked robotically, all while doing that weird hand chop thing he does when he is impatient. Izuku grabbed the coffee and closed his locker,  
  
“Sorry, but I’m not walking with you guys today. I’m meeting someone for lunch.”  
  
“What’s this? Does Izuku have a date?” Ochaco popped up beside Iida out of no-where, wearing that smug little look of hers like she always does at the café, “And would that date be with a certain fiery ash blonde?”  
  
“It’s not a date. Jeez what’s with you two and trying to kill me today.” Izuku hissed as he leaned against the lockers, clutching his thumping chest. One more of that and he might actually just die of shock.  
  
They walked to the front gates of the school where Izuku said goodbye to them, turning and almost colliding with that certain fiery ash blonde he was supposed to be meeting at the train station. That did it. His nerves were already shot as it is and now another fright.  
  
“Hey Deku, are you alright?! Did you two do something to him?!” Katsuki asked alarmed as he caught the stumbling teen and steadied him. Ochaco smiled innocently,  
  
“No way, not with you hovering around him all the time.”  
  
“Izuku is this who you’re going to lunch with?” Iida questioned. He sounded scarier than usual. Izuku looked up at him, studying his facial expression, but as per usual, it was a poker face.  
  
“Yes? This is Bakugou Katsuki. Kacchan, this is Tenya Iida.” Izuku told him and introduced the two. Why was Iida suddenly so serious?  
  
“I won’t allow it.” Iida shot back, “I do not usually care for what you do, but this I will not allow. That man is a criminal and will only have bad influences on you.”  
  
“Ida!” Ochaco gasped, “Don’t go around yelling things like this, especially when you have nothing to base your suspicion on!”  
  
“I have a whole file on him in my brother’s office. What date was it? The 24th of June this year?” Iida replied coldly. Katsuki cocked one eyebrow, looking Iida over carefully. He knew what date he spoke off. But why did he know of it.  
  
“What do you mean? What’s going on?” Izuku asked confused, looking from Iida to Katsuki and back. Ochaco shifted uncomfortably. People were staring at them like some huge fight was about to go down, and if she was honest with herself, looking at the expression of Iida’s face and those currently flickering across Katsuki’s, a fight wasn’t entirely out of the question. They both looked pissed. Well, Katsuki more than usual anyway.  
  
“I thought I recognised you from somewhere. You’re that nosey brat sucking up to that cop.” Katsuki sneered and a scary grin etched into his face, “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, being an extra and all.”  
  
“Katsuki?” Izuku interjected and Ochaco yelled something about calling people ‘extras’, but Iida simply spoke over them,  
  
“That ‘cop’ is my brother and you are a criminal charged with trespassing private property. I will not allow you to go anywhere with Midoriya.”  
  
Ochaco and Izuku glanced at each other. What were these two getting so worked up over? They had to be stopped before it was too late, especially now that Katsuki was visibly fuming.  
  
“Who the fuck do you think you are, telling me what I can and can’t do, huh?!” he snapped and Izuku pressed his hand against Katsuki’s chest to keep him from getting any closer to Iida. Equally, Ochaco grabbed onto Iida’s arm to keep him back as he attempted to launch towards Katsuki.  
  
“How dare you speak to me in such a vulgar manner.” He snapped right back.  
  
“Both of you give it a rest, will you?!” Izuku yelled. More people stared. It’s not every day that such a heated stare down happened right outside of the school gates. They had to resolve this quickly before the teachers caught wind of it. The last thing Izuku needed was to end up in the principal’s office and have to explain what was going on.  
  
“Okay, first, you have to calm down. Alright? This isn’t the place to start yelling around. Secondly, yes Iida, I am going to lunch with Katsuki. He’s not a bad person, he’s just a little rough around the edges. I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be fine.” Izuku scolded while Ochaco nodded along.  
  
“And Katsuki, don’t go picking fights with my friends alright? What are you doing here so early anyway? Did you get suspended again?!” the freckled teen scolded and Katsuki glared at him weakly before he hissed,  
  
“That half-half bastard had it coming to him.”  
  
“I’m not even going to ask,” Izuku sighed defeated, “We should get going soon or we’ll miss the train. And Iida, again, don’t worry about me, I’ve got this one under control.”  
  
Iida and Katsuki glared at each other one last time almost as if to say ‘next time I see you, I’m going to give you hell’. Ochaco and Izuku quickly separated them and after saying their goodbyes, Katsuki and Izuku headed towards the train station. What they didn’t know was that Iida was in hot pursuit with Ochaco trying to stop him, but sadly, her strength was no match for his stubborn willpower and she ended up just being dragged along. The chase was on. 

  


 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


It was pretty quiet in the small restaurant they ended up in. Izuku said he wanted to try their new burger and who was Katsuki to say no to burgers. It was a simple restaurant, rustic in decoration with wooden benches and leather seats, dozens of plants decorated the ceiling beams and along the walls. Katsuki actually quite liked it here.  
  
They ordered and spoke while they waited. It had been about a month now since Izuku had stayed over at Katsuki’s place and the day before that seemed to have disappeared from memory. Izuku was glad it had. He wasn’t quite ready to admit it aloud yet, but just thinking about life without Katsuki made him sick to the stomach. Maybe this really was turning into something bigger than a simple crush. Maybe, he wouldn’t have to make Katsuki wait for long. If he was completely honest with himself, he wasn’t going to stop anything anymore. Sure, it was scary, but at the same time, he felt happier than he had ever been before…and it was all thanks to Katsuki.  
  
“What are you thinking about?” Katsuki asked suddenly, looking at Izuku with a curious glint in his eyes.  
  
“Mmmm, about you.” Izuku hummed teasingly, taking the other by surprise. Izuku laughed at Katsuki’s dumbstruck expression. Really though, it wasn’t a crush anymore at all, not that he was quite ready to admit that to himself yet.  
  
“Why the fuck would you do that?” Katsuki growled, hiding his embarrassment by taking a big gulp of his coke and then promptly choked on it. Panic ensued from Izuku and the waitress who happened to have their food with her at that exact moment. Luckily after a rather loud burp, Katsuki seemed fine and the stares of the few other customers lingered on the two of them for quite some time after that, much to Izuku’s embarrassment. The food, however, was delicious enough for him to ignore them.  
  
“What did you have in mind after this?” Izuku asked between bites and Katsuki had to first remind himself not to stare at Izuku before he replied. He sat his burger down for a moment, balancing it just right so it wouldn’t fall apart on the plate and leaned over the table towards Izuku and whispered,  
  
“How does a game of laser-tag sound to lose those two snooping idiots.”  
  
Izuku snickered, so Katsuki had seen them too. To be fair, they weren’t all that good at staying out of sight, especially with Iida’s height and Ochaco’s abnormally gravity defying hair. They roused attention no matter where they went.  
  
“You just want to get even with Iida by beating him at laser-tag.” Izuku replied with a small smirk forming on his lips. Katsuki sat back against his seat and lifted one elbow onto the backrest, shrugging innocently,  
  
“I’ll admit that it would be a fucking awesome feeling.”  
  
Izuku laughed. It sounded like a great idea.

  


 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


They walked extra slowly, stopping suddenly and changing direction, purposely taking the side streets and walking in zig-zag through the crowds, watching as Iida and Ochaco struggled to keep up. It was quite entertaining, especially for Katsuki who still held a grudge against Iida and relished in the confusion he was creating.  
  
“You’re having way more fun than you should be.” Izuku snickered as Katsuki pulled him into and alleyway and watched as Iida frantically ran around, lifting Ochaco over the crowd of people, trying to figure out where Katsuki and Izuku had disappeared to.  
  
Katsuki looked down at the freckled teen wedged between him and the wall and gave Izuku one of those rare beautiful earnest grins of his and replied,  
  
“Maybe, but I’m having a blast.”  
  
Izuku felt heat creep into his cheeks as Katsuki looked away and he realised how close they were, crammed into this small space, hiding from view. The collar of Katsuki’s checkered hoodie tickled his chin and it smelled so nice. It was calming and yet it made his heart beat like crazy. Izuku let his head drop into the nook of Katsuki’s neck and smiled. That’s what they were. A wonderful contradiction. Katsuki didn’t notice it and shortly after, pulled Izuku back onto the street. 

  


 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


“Well what now?” Ochaco huffed as she stood beside Iida in front of the enormous laser-tag centre Izuku and Katsuki had just disappeared into. Iida, who appear perfectly fine despite chasing after those two for half an hour straight, rolled up his sleeves and clenched his teeth.  
  
“Our operation is about to move indoors. We will engage them in close quarters and while the criminal is distracted, we can snatch Izuku away from him.” Iida told her and marched towards the entrance.  
  
“His name is Katsuki!” Ochaco yelled after him, gasping for air and cursing herself for following Iida in the first place. Then again, she’d never been to laser-tag before, so this could be fun. Iida was completely delirious though. She sighed and straightened up, this was going to be interesting.  
  
“Halt!” Iida yelled just as Ochaco entered the building and as people began to stare, she halted. Of course he was going to make a big scene. She didn’t know this person, right? Yeah, she didn’t know this person at all.  
  
“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in.” Katsuki sneered as Iida caught up to them by the counter. Izuku was just about ready to disappear into the ground and as he spied Ochaco looking just as embarrassed as he was, he smiled and waved at her awkwardly.  
  
“Please don’t start a fight here…” the girl pleaded, “At least wait until we get into the game…”  
  
“That’s fine with me.” The two of them replied basically in unison. It was scary. There was no way this was going to end well.  
  
Funny thing was, there was an uneven number of players and so everyone had to draw lots to see which team they were on. What was even funnier about the situation was Iida and Katsuki now cursing under their breath as they both slumped to pick up the same colour vest and play on the same team.  
  
“I’ll still beat your ass in points.” Katsuki hissed sourly as he fastened it around his waist.  
  
“I was going to say the same thing.” Iida shot right back.  
  
“Is it really okay to leave those two on a team together?” Ochaco whispered to Izuku and the freckled teen shrugged, putting on his own vest.  
  
“It sure is going to make for a very interesting match though.” He replied uneasily. He wanted to be on Katsuki’s team, but he supposed being together with Ochaco was fine too…except both of them couldn’t aim and their best shot was probably to hide.  
  
They did hide for the most part, guarding each other’s backs and then running away if they were found, most likely shot in the process. It was fun though. Their laughs couldn’t be heard over the loud music and they had to yell at each other to understand what the other was saying, but it was fun.  
  
The arena was huge, it was easy to lose each other and even harder to find each other. Izuku had only seen Katsuki in passing from a higher level, only for a few seconds before the other disappeared from sight. He guessed Katsuki was too fired up and focused on beating Iida to try and find Izuku. A part of Izuku was thankful for that. He didn’t even want to think about having Katsuki chase him around this huge complex, and yet another felt sad that Katsuki wasn’t paying any attention to him.  
  
Izuku wandered down a corridor on the second floor, peeking around the corners, firing at the enemies whenever he found one. Most of the time though, he was the one who was shot down and his opponent walked past him. It was another one of these moments where he squatted in a corner, laser-gun drawn to his chest, waiting for the blue light to go on again. He heard someone approaching. Slow, heavy footsteps echoed along the ground. Izuku held his breath. This time for sure. This time he would shoot them down.  
  
His vest flashed blue and he darted out from behind his hiding spot, pointing his gun down the empty corridor, laser flashing. Izuku stopped. Had he imagined the footsteps? Was it just part of the course? He lowered his weapon, squinting down the hallway. A flash of red. The person had dodged Izuku’s attacks. Izuku’s heart stopped for a second and before he could raise his gun and shoot, a laser was already pointed at his chest and the blue light on his vest went out again. He stood there dumbfounded. How could this person have evaded his shots from earlier? Was it the smoke? Had that hidden the person enough for Izuku to miss? He wasn’t sure. But something was different this time.  
  
Slow footsteps, gradually getting closer. Izuku stumbled backwards, backing himself into a corner. He glanced around, heart thumping in his chest. Something about this was so eerie and for some reason even though his vest was off, this person seemed intent on him.  
  
Smoke swirled around combat boots with every slow step, gun dangling loosely in one hand as if to actually purposely scare the crap out of Izuku. The freckled boy held his breath. He still had another minute or two before his vest turned back on and he was able to defend himself. For now, he was a sitting duck, staring at the person closing in on him.  
  
His heart skipped another beat. He knew that checkered hoodie wrapped around the person's waist. A part of him felt relieved knowing it was Katsuki, and yet another felt even more terrified. What was with this slow walk? Was Katsuki angry because Iida was beating him? Or was he just trying to be mean.  
  
Red light threw eerie shadows over Katsuki’s face, making him appear scarier than usual, but also hotter. And these slow strides, they sent shivers down Izuku’s spine. Izuku swallowed hard, staring up at the ash-blonde towering above him. It made him feel so weak and small all of the sudden.  
  
“I finally found you.” Katsuki spoke, his voice was lower and there was this dark edge to it. Izuku yelped as a hand was stemmed against the wall beside his head, gun pointed at his chest. There was a dangerous glint in Katsuki’s eyes.  
  
Izuku couldn’t move. He was pinned against the wall, a furious blush heating his face. There was something terribly exciting about this situation that made his whole body shake and while he didn’t want to admit it to himself and god forbid ever admit it out loud, he kind of like this side of Katsuki.  
  
A smirk formed on Katsuki’s lips, relishing in the way the freckled boy’s green eyes stared up at him in a whirlpool of emotion. But what he liked the most about this whole situation was the soft light his vest threw onto Izuku’s features, highlighting the boy’s parted lips. Katsuki wanted to kiss him so badly, but he held himself back, respecting Izuku’s personal space even if that was somewhat non-existent right now. One of these days though, he wasn’t going to let Izuku off that easily.  
  
So maybe he was a little angry that the four-eyed extra was beating him in points, and maybe he had planned to keep Izuku like this and shoot him over and over again to catch up to Iida, but the longer he stared at Izuku, the more he realised that throughout this whole time, he had been too focused on finding him than scoring points, and now that he had, he didn’t want to let the freckled boy disappear from his view again. Still, this was pretty bad. His self-restraint wasn’t going to hold out for that much longer. Either he gave up and let Izuku go, or he was going to risk this whole fragile bond of theirs again.  
  
Izuku studied Katsuki’s expression. Katsuki was really, really good looking. Like, more than he usually was. Maybe it was just this lighting, or maybe it was the way his eyes narrowed at Izuku, brow slightly furrowed. Either way, Izuku didn’t hate this situation at all, and yet he wasn’t just going to let Katsuki win that easily. He figured that if he stayed, Katsuki was just going to use him to beat Iida even though that probably wasn’t the only intention the ash-blonde had by keeping Izuku here. Izuku just had to figure out a way to surprise Katsuki so much that he has enough time to escape.  
  
Izuku had about another thirty seconds before his vest would turn on again. If he could just shoot Katsuki once his gun was operational again, he could put him out of commission for a little bit and run away to find a new hiding spot and then snipe Katsuki down from afar. If Katsuki wanted a game of cat and mouse, then he was happy to oblige. It seemed like fun and since he had no idea where Ochaco was, he needed something to keep him busy anyway. All he needed was that second of distraction. Izuku wracked his brain for ideas. Twenty seconds left. He couldn’t let Katsuki notice he was planning anything. It had to be a surprise. Ten seconds. An idea crossed his mind. He didn’t have time to think about it. He shifted onto his tippy toes and closed his eyes.  
  
Soft lips met Katsuki’s sending a bolt of lightning surging through him. Surprised, he dropped his gun, staring down at closed eyes, messy curls of green hair tickling his nose. His heart skipped a beat, warmth pooling in the pit of his stomach and he allowed his eyes to drift close. Izuku was kissing him. He tasted like a soft, strawberry milkshake. A smile formed on Katsuki’s lips and a laugh bubbled up in his throat. Izuku tasted like strawberry clouds.  
  
So maybe Izuku was enjoying this a little too much, lingering on Katsuki’s lips a little too long. But it felt so good. He felt like it was always supposed to happen like this. Everything fell into place. All unspoken emotions conveyed in silence. He almost forgot about the plan until he cracked his eyes open a little to look at Katsuki and saw the blue light shining from his chest. That’s right, he was supposed to shoot Katsuki now, grin and disappear into the darkness.  
  
Katsuki felt Izuku smirk into the kiss and a moment later a laser sounded, followed by his vest beeping. His eyes snapped open and he pulled away from the kiss, staring down at his vest. The red light was off. Izuku stood in front of him, grinning broadly, a self-assured glint flashing in his eyes. He poked his tongue out at Katsuki teasingly and laughed,  
  
“Got you.”  
Katsuki wasn’t mad. Awestruck he watched Izuku slide away from the wall, take two skips backwards, wave cheekily and then run off into the smoke. Katsuki stood frozen, feeling his fingertips along his lips. He wasn’t mad at all…but he was so going to get Izuku back for this little stunt of his.

  



	11. I love you too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I literally have no excuse this time. Please forgive me.  
>    
>  Here is a relatively long-ish chapter to make up for the wait though~~  
>  Enjoy~

“Why does this feel like a cheesy, stereotypical shojo manga?” Izuku groaned and dropped back into a chair. He sighed, loosening the black uniform tie. How had things turned out this way?  
  
“Maybe its revenge?” Ochaco teased as she folded her apron. Izuku glared at her. She smiled apologetically. In truth, she was just as confused as Izuku. She shouldered her school bag and petted his head, “He’s still around, isn’t he? Go talk to him then.”  
  
“It’s not that easy…” Izuku replied, “Whenever he sees me, he just stops what he’s doing and leaves.”  
  
“Like a high school girl.” Ochaco giggled, “Don’t worry Izuku, you’ll catch him sooner or later. See you tomorrow.”  
  
“Yeah…” Izuku replied absentmindedly. He pulled out his phone, quarter past six. It’d be dark out by now, he kinda dreaded the thought of walking home alone this late. Up until now, Katsuki had usually accompanied him home if his shift ended after dark, but now?  
  
Izuku pulled himself up, brow creased in a frown. Was it really revenge? Was Katsuki doing this to get even? If it was, it wasn’t something Izuku had included as a consequence of teasing Katsuki like that. It was as if that kiss a few days ago, turned their roles upside down and suddenly nothing made sense anymore. Even after the laser tag game, Katsuki didn’t even blow a fuse when Iida mocked him for losing. He was just…unusually quiet. Since then, whenever Izuku came anywhere within Katsuki’s vicinity, the ash blonde would promptly leave.  
  
Izuku turned off the light in the Catnap Café and headed for the door, keys jingling in the quiet night air. This situation kind of reminded him of that one time Katsuki broke Mr Aizawa’s favourite mug, except this time there was no hand on his shoulder. Izuku rested his hand on the doors handle for a while, hoping for something, anything really, except he didn’t know what.  
  
He turned to leave, staring up at the clear night sky. No star in sight. They were all outshined by Tokyo’s bright lights. It was quite depressing. Izuku shook his head amused. He was falling back into his old habits, making up some melodramatic stuff about nothing at all. Maybe that’s just how lonely he felt right now. It hurt. He took out his phone, the messages he sent to Katsuki still ignored, the calls left unanswered. Something told him that this wasn’t sweet revenge.  
  
“Alright, enough of the depressing thoughts!” he told himself and smacked his cheeks. He pulled his scarf over his nose and stuffed his hands into his pockets, humming songs to himself to pass the time.  
  
Tokyo was a lively city, even at night, the streets filled with cars and people returning home from their jobs. Izuku shuffled along the empty sidewalk, head lowered against the wind, barely paying attention where he was going. He was home before he even realised, and as he stood there at his front door, unable to remember the past twenty minutes at all. Without Katsuki around, he fell right back into that routine he had tried so hard to break free from. His stomach churned at the very thought of it. There was no way in hell he was going to let himself slip. Hadn’t he learned better? Hadn’t he grown over these past few years? Over the past few months? Hadn’t he come to love Katsuki?  
  
Izuku stopped, stared at space. He was in love with Katsuki. Don’t ask him how he knew it…he just did. What was love? He couldn’t answer, but whatever it was, this was it. That warmth that flooded his chest whenever Katsuki looked at him, or growing lightheaded when the other touched him. Even Katsuki’s rough side, the one that swore too much and exploded at pretty much anything, he had grown to love that side too. Because while the ash blonde was a hothead 80% of the time, rarely, very rarely, he would show his soft side and smile – a smile that could outshine all lights in this world. At least Izuku thought so, no matter how sappy that sounded. Without that smile around, Izuku feared his world would plunge right back into darkness.  
  
His body sort of moved on his own, half aware of what he was doing, half lost in the hesitant stride that took him down the rustic stairs of the old apartment complex. His feet moved fast, carrying him up the empty street, steering right for Katsuki’s house. He was going to take his light back, even if it was the most selfish thing he was ever going to do in his life. The voice that said “don’t” was long silenced before Izuku reached the door, finger hovering hesitantly over the bell. He wasn’t going to drift back to where he was at the beginning of this. Too much had happened, too many happy memories he wanted to hold on to, too many moments he never wanted to forget. He had changed, and for the better, thanks to that adorable hothead he had come to love.  
  
It sounded pretty dumb, even to him, but he had to do it. He would never forgive himself if he let this be, if he ran away like he had back then. He didn’t want to run away anymore. Even if this was doomed to kill him – which, let’s be honest here, he was just ringing a goddamn doorbell, no need to be so melodramatic – he would see it through to the end. From here on, Izuku promised himself that things would be different. He was going to love Katsuki back with all his heart. He was going to turn things around. Everything. Including the injury that had kept him grounded for so long. He was going to do everything to show Katsuki just how much this second chance meant to him, even if the ash blonde didn’t get it. It was all thanks to him.  
  
The bell rang loudly, oddly, piercing the night air and driving a bolt of fright through Izuku’s heart. What if…  
  
“Nope!” Izuku told himself out loud, “We just went through this!”  
  
“Izuku?” the door opened, Mitsuki looked at him confused. Izuku rubbed the back of his head embarrassed,  
  
“Uhm…i-is Katsuki home?” he mumbled. Why was he stuttering? He hadn’t stuttered in a while. His nerves were shot. This was completely different than asking Ochaco for his homework. He knew that whatever happened next was going to be a little uncomfortable, for both him and Katsuki.  
  
“Yes, he just came home a little while ago. Did you forget something?” she asked him and Izuku shook his head,  
  
“No, I haven’t seen him all day.” Izuku replied just as confused.  
  
“He wasn’t with you?”  
  
“No...?”  
  
“Katsuki!” Mitsuki yelled at the top of her lungs, probably rousing the whole neighbourhood.  
  
“The fuck do you want?” came the reply from upstairs.  
  
“Get your ass down here right now!”  
  
There was a bit of swearing and irritated shuffling from above and an annoyed Katsuki slowly made his way down the stairs. He got about half way until he noticed Izuku and promptly stopped, eyes widening alarmed.  
  
“Hey Kacchan…” Izuku said and waved shyly. He seemed shocked, scared even and Izuku couldn’t tell who of. Was it him? Something was beginning to dawn on him as he studied Katsuki’s face. It seemed to impossible though, that he dismissed it and figured it couldn’t be that.  
  
“Would you like to explain to me where you’ve been all day? You said you were going to see Izuku.” Mitsuki asked sharply. Katsuki’s expression changed again, irritated this time,  
  
“What’s it to you?” he snapped back and Izuku could feel the air beside him changing as Mitsuki grew angrier. Yup, this is definitely where Katsuki got his temper from. He didn’t really want to be involved in this right now so he turned to Mitsuki and interrupted her before she could explode.  
  
“I’m sorry Mi-Mitsuki,” he began, flinching as she spun around, afraid she would rip him to pieces with that scowl on her face, but he recovered quickly and continued, “I’d really like to speak to Kacchan myself…if that’s okay…”  
  
Mitsuki’s features softened and she nodded,  
  
“Of course you can.”  
  
Izuku thanked her quietly and slipped out of his shoes, walking up the stairs towards Katsuki.  
  
“Sorry for the intrusion.” He said as he walked by the ash blonde. 

 

An awkward silence, the kind they hadn’t had in a while hung heavy in the room. Katsuki sat on his bed, staring everywhere but at Izuku, and the freckled boy sat on the floor, nervously fidgeting with his fingers. What was he supposed to say? ‘Are you okay?’ ‘Did I do something wrong?’ ‘What’s the matter?’  
  
“Are you wrong?” he finally managed, mushing two sentences together. He blushed embarrassed, cursing under his breath. Katsuki looked at him and a wonky smile appeared on his lips as he watched Izuku.  
  
“What I meant to say was, I’m sorry. Are you alright? Did I do something wrong?” Izuku said loudly, catching both of them off guard. Izuku bit his bottom lip, was that a bit too much?  
  
“What?” Katsuki asked bewildered, blinking twice, shaking his head and mumbling, “That’s not it at all…”  
  
“Then…did you…did you not like it…? The kiss…was it…?” Izuku began, but Katsuki cut him off,  
  
“T-That’s not it either!” he snapped, jumping off his bed, scaring the crap out of the poor boy on the floor.  
  
“T-then what is it? Why are you avoiding me?” Izuku snapped back and Katsuki stopped. They stared at each other, one just as flushed and embarrassed as the other. Katsuki sat back down slowly and then mumbled,  
  
“I just…I didn’t know what to do…you’re…the first person I’ve ever loved, I don’t know what I’m doing and when you kissed me…I felt so damn happy I thought I was going to die…and I wanted to kiss you again…and again…and…I didn’t know what…you wanted…if it was just part of the game…or if you had meant it…” his voice rose slightly, as if he was getting more irritated with himself. Izuku had to admit, this was rather unusual for Katsuki to be bluntly honest about his feelings, but he did like this side of him too. After all, he had the feeling that Katsuki knew as well as he did that there was no use lying or dodging anything right now.  
  
“…I see.” Izuku replied quietly, trying not to let the relief sound too much. So it wasn’t him…not really anyway, it was just Katsuki’s insecurities, and knowing that even this ball of fury had them made Izuku feel a little better.  
  
“What the fuck are you smiling about?!” Katsuki snapped embarrassed, cheek’s flaming red and Izuku flinched away for a second, but then he caught himself and crawled to his knees until he sat just in front of Katsuki.  
  
“I’m sorry, it’s just that…thank you, Kacchan.” He said, looking the other right into the eyes. His whole body was shaking, palms going sweaty, lips dry.  
  
“Hah?!” Katsuki retorted, sounding a little harsher than he had intended. His heart almost stopped for a moment as Izuku reached out and took his hands, folding his fingers between his and smiling so god damn brightly it made his eyes hurt.  
  
“Thank you for being honest. I know it was hard for you.” Izuku smiled.  
  
“Shut the fuck up.” The other hissed half-heartedly in return, too busy trying to calm his racing heart to actually mean it.  
  
“Hey Kacchan, that kiss…I did mean it. Completely. I hope you forgive me for doing it so suddenly…”  
  
“Are you fucking kidding me?! It was perfect.” Katsuki interrupted, once again embarrassing the two of them so much their faces turned all shades of red, kinda overlooking Izuku’s sorta, kinda, roundabout way of confessing.  
  
“Ahem…yes…well…it was…” Izuku mumbled quietly, biting around on his bottom lip. God his heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest and he was beginning to feel lightheaded. This was more nerve wrecking than any competition he ever entered. But, there was no turning back now. He had come this far and he was going to see it through to the end.  
  
“W-what I was trying to say is…well…” Izuku broke off, sighing, giving himself a mental kick, turning his head back to face Katsuki and with his heart in his hands he finally managed,  
  
“Well…I love you…”  
  
Katsuki blinked, the words slowly sinking in, but somehow he was afraid that his ear deceived him. He sat there quietly, staring at the freckled boy, unable to move, or speak, his mind going into overdrive.  
  
“S-say something!” Izuku complained embarrassed and Katsuki had to really pull himself together to formulate a coherent sentence,  
  
“Could you…repeat that?” he whispered hoarsely, still blankly staring at Izuku. The freckled boy regarded Katsuki with curiosity then. He kinda reminded Izuku of himself with his first girlfriend. He smiled gently, rising up on his knees so that he was almost at the same level as Katsuki and spoke, quietly, clearly,  
  
“Kacchan, I love you.”  
  
“You…do?” was the reply. Still uncertain, soft, as if he didn’t want to say it.  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Really really.”  
  
“Then…can I kiss you?”  
  
“Yeah…”  
  
Gently, slow. Lips brushing, barely touching. Soft breaths, igniting a fire in their chest. It was different, but good. Katsuki pulled Izuku closer, cupping his face so very gently as if he was afraid that Izuku might break. The freckled boy smiled into the kiss, happy warmth flooding through his body and he melted into the touch. He loved all sides of Katsuki, but this one, just quietly, he loved the most.  
  
“I love you.” Katsuki whispered quietly as they pulled apart just far enough for him to speak and Izuku gently bumped his head against the other, grinning widely,  
  
“I love you too.”

  



	12. Dark Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I wish I could add gifs in these notes..  
> *Inserts Mushu's "I live" gif*  
>   
> No but really, hey everyone~ I have returned.  
> Sorry for the long wait. First year 12 exams, then a trip to Japan and just an overall writer's block have kept me from completing this chapter for so long, but enough of the excuses I now have nothing left to keep me from writing (gotta embrace the NEET life until some kind soul is willing to offer me a job T.T) so updates should be more frequent now!  
>   
> Your kind messages have honestly kept me going and I appreciate it very much! So it's not over yet! Actually my best friend helped me plan a timeline because I suck at sticking to the plot so much xD so I have direction now!  
> Anyway enough of my rant~  
>   
> Enjoy the chapter!

Mitsuki insisted Izuku stay over that night and Katsuki had this bad feeling that she knew more than she was letting on, but that wasn’t his biggest problem right now.  
  
“You’ve got to be fucking joking!” he exploded.  
  
“What have I said about this attitude of yours?!” Mitsuki snapped back and whacked him over the head, “I don’t see why it’s such a big problem.”  
  
“I-I don’t really mind either, really Kacchan, it’s okay.” Izuku piped in quietly, earning a half-assed glare from the ash blonde. It’s not that he didn’t want to either…it’s just that…his mother was being so damn smug right now he couldn’t let her win. Not like this. She was up to something. For one, he’d never even heard of the spare futon being at the dry-cleaners. This whole situation was suspicious.  
  
“Fine.” Katsuki growled. Its not like he wasn’t happy with this situation either, sharing a bed with Izuku, that is.  
  
“Well then,” Mitsuki began, she sounded quite pleased with herself, “Don’t forget to take a bath, you stink.” She left before Katsuki could get angry again and Izuku merely chuckled to himself. This family was so odd. 

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This wasn’t like last time Izuku stayed over. It was a little more awkward? Well, at least on Katsuki’s part. The boy was walking into doors, tripping over air and shrinking into himself whenever Izuku started talking. It was very, very uncharacteristically, but funny at the same time, so just for a little bit, Izuku said nothing and watched amused.  
  
“You’ve had this fucking annoying grin on your face for a while now, you shitty nerd.” Katsuki hissed sourly as he dried his spiky hair while Izuku sat on his bed and watched.  
  
“Is that so?” Izuku mumbled, grin never fading, only growing. Katsuki growled something under his breath, shot Izuku a weak glare, snatched his clothes from the floor and headed to another room to change. Much to Izuku’s dismay.  
  
The freckled boy let his eyes wander around the huge room. Nothing had changed, and yet, it felt completely different. Izuku felt his face heat up and he left himself fall back onto the bed. A rush of emotions and the day, no the past months came flooding over him without permission. He felt his heart begin to race as the realisation of what he was doing suddenly occurred to him. He had confessed. He was now in Katsuki’s room. He was staying over for the night.  
  
“What the fuck are you doing?”  
  
Izuku sat up promptly, embarrassedly waving his hands in front of his face so Katsuki wouldn’t see, but this only seemed to encourage the other and Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s wrists, prying them away from his face.  
  
“You can’t hide from me.” He growled playfully, but when Izuku’s flustered face was uncovered, Katsuki almost died. He muttered something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like a curse and let himself fall down beside Izuku. They lay there in silence for a while, neither sure of what to say or do next.  
  
“What’s the time?” Izuku asked calmly, mentally kicking himself for the shitty small-talk, but it seemed to ease some of this tense atmosphere. Katsuki shifted slightly to fish his phone out of his sweatpants and replied,  
  
“Just past 9.”  
  
Silence again. What to say? What to do?  
  
“Hey Kacchan?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Can you come see my mom with me tomorrow?”  
  
“Sure.”  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
Silence.  
  
“Why?”  
  
“I want to tell her about you.”  
  
Silence.  
  
“Why the fuck would you want to do that?”  
  
“Why wouldn’t I?”  
  
Silence.  
  
“Kacchan I love you…and I want her to know and see that I’m happy again.”  
  
“Shut up.”  
  
“Sorry?”  
  
“I said shut up.”  
  
Silence.  
  
“I love you too…”  
  
Izuku laughed at the whisper and rolled onto his side so he was looking at Katsuki,  
  
“You’re so cute Kacchan.”  
  
“I’ll fucking kill you.”  
  
“Ahaha, no you won’t.”  
  
“Shut up.”  
  
“Never.”  
  
Silence.  
  
“Are you going to tell your mom too?” Izuku asked after a while.  
  
“She already knows.”  
  
“Huh?!”  
  
Katsuki sat up, walked over to his closet, pulled out a shirt and pyjama pants and tossed them at Izuku.  
  
“Here, you’re not sleeping in my bed with your dirty work clothes.”  
  
“Ah…thanks.” Izuku mumbled as he pried them off his face and sat up. He stared at the pants and then back at Katsuki. A question nagged in the back of his mind and he took a deep breath. He already knew the answer anyway, and it was going to be hilarious to see Katsuki’s reaction.  
  
“Did you…follow me home from work today?”  
  
Katsuki froze, hands tightly gripping the closet door. He bit his lip, slammed the door shut with all his might and snapped,  
  
“So what if I did huh?!”  
  
Izuku wasn’t fazed in the slightest by the violent reaction – he’d seen that coming from a mile away, but it still took a hell of a lot of self-control not to laugh too hard. Instead, he got off the bed and started changing into the pyjamas. First his top, then his pants. Far too big. He chuckled, bending down to roll up the ends of the pants so he wouldn’t trip over them. Finally, he straightened up and look at Katsuki with a sly smirk that drove the blonde up the wall…well, internally. Katsuki was a little too shaken by Izuku’s actions to say anything or do anything. I mean for god’s sake; how can you just take off your clothes so fucking casually in front of your boyfriend?! Wait, were they boyfriends now?!  
  
“Did you also lurk around the outside of the café for the last few days?” Izuku asked calmly. Katsuki didn’t reply. Izuku titled his head slightly, studying the blonde’s facial expression. If he had to put it into words it would be something similar to his own habit of incoherent mumbling when he was thinking too hard, except it looked as though Katsuki’s brain had already short-circuited. All that was missing was a plume of smoke or his ghost hovering above his head like in an anime.  
  
“Kacchan?”  
  
No answer  
  
“Kacchan?”  
  
Still no answer  
  
“Katsuki!”  
  
Nothing. Izuku frowned, slowly walking towards Katsuki and then poked his forehead. Katsuki blinked as if he suddenly snapped out of a daze and with a yell he shrank away from Izuku.  
  
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Izuku asked a little worried and Katsuki wasn’t sure if he appreciated Izuku’s concern or was just mildly ticked off by it. He cursed himself under his breath.  
  
“Nothing, nothings the matter.” He snapped, paused, recollected himself – something he didn’t do too often but Izuku deserved the better side of him and muttered,  
  
“You, you’re the problem. You’re just so, so…” He flexed his hands, as if trying to grasp the words.  
  
“Smart.” Izuku chuckled and chimed in. He couldn’t just let this opportunity pass.  
  
“No that’s not it.”  
  
“Strong.”  
  
“Well kinda?”  
  
“Tall.”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Handsome.”  
  
“Doesn’t do it justice. More like the most beautiful person I have ever seen. And your eyes. I could lose myself in them every time I looked at you. And then you smile and I just…you drive me crazy.”  
  
Izuku laughed, flashing Katsuki one of those smiles before he closed the gap between them and gave the ash blonde a kiss. Maybe he should stop teasing Katsuki before the other exploded completely. But only maybe.  
  
“I hate you.” Katsuki hissed, far too quietly, and maybe a little too softly for his liking, but damn he was powerless against Izuku, so why struggle?  
  
“So you’ve told me before.” Izuku snickered, wondering just how far he could push before Katsuki really killed him. It seemed like a delightful challenge. But maybe not tonight. He would be merciful tonight. After all, he wanted to enjoy this as much as he could. 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hah?!”  
  
“Shhhh Kacchan, not so loud!” Izuku hissed alarmed following the ash-blonde’s outburst.  
“Why the fuck should I tell you?! It’s called the darkest secret for a fucking reason!” Katsuki retorted annoyed and let himself sink down onto the pillow again. Izuku turned to his side and whined,  
  
“But Kacchan…!”  
  
“Shut up.”  
  
“Pleaseeeeee!”  
  
“Don’t look at me like that you shitty nerd.”  
  
“I’m not looking at you like anything.”  
  
“Yes you are.”  
  
“Kacchaaaaaan.”  
  
“That. See that?! You’re making that face. With your little puppy eyes, all sparkly and stuff.”  
  
Izuku huffed annoyed. Too dark to work and Katsuki saw right through him. An idea popped into his head. Cruel, but it could work.  
  
“But Kacchan, you know my darkest secret, why can’t I know yours? It’s not fair.”  
  
“What are you? A child?” Katsuki answered irritatedly but gave in, paused, sighed deeply and growled, “I swear to fucking god if you laugh you’re sleeping on the floor.”  
  
“I promise I won’t laugh!”  
  
Silence.  
  
“I swear to go Deku if you-!”  
  
“I won’t, I won’t!”  
  
Izuku felt Katsuki shift uncomfortably next to him, and a voice in the back of his head nagged him to reassure Katsuki that if he really didn’t feel comfortable with telling then he shouldn’t feel forced to. Just as Izuku went to say just that, Katsuki whispered ashamed,  
  
“I have a heart-shaped birthmark on my butt.”  
  
Silence. Izuku had to bite his tongue real hard not to burst out laughing, but a small snicker escaped him anyway.  
  
“Did you just laugh?” Katsuki snapped and promptly sat up, diving for Izuku.  
  
“Nooooooo.” Izuku cried as he half-heartedly defended himself from the ash-blonde. He laughed loudly, uncaring if someone heard. He just found out something amazing about Katsuki.  
  
“Such murderous aura!” he complained jokingly and easily batted Katsuki’s hands away.  
  
“You shitty little nerd, just fall off the bed already!”  
  
“Don’t want to.”  
  
“You fucking laughed! I heard it!”  
  
“But Kacchan, I laughed because I think it’s really cute you call it a dark secret, not because it exists!”  
  
“That still counts you shitty nerd!”  
  
Izuku laughed again. Katsuki wasn’t really trying, and these insults carried less than half the venom they used to. In short, even if he threatened to, Katsuki didn’t really want to kick Izuku off the bed.  
  
“Oi be quiet!” came a furious yell from somewhere in the house. Katsuki and Izuku froze and held their breath, but nothing followed.  
  
“Scary.” Izuku cried quietly, calming his racing heart. Yup, Katsuki definitely had his temper from his mother. His thoughts were interrupted by Katsuki giving him a final push that threw him off the bed. His face kissed the floor with a dull thud. Apparently, he wasn’t off the hook yet. Nor, did it seem as though he had judged Katsuki correctly as the ash blonde hissed sourly,  
  
“And fucking stay down.”  
  
“So mean Kacchan.” Izuku complained playfully as he rolled onto his side and rubbed his sore nose, still a little too entertained to be truly hurt or offended by the act.  
  
“Serves you right.” Came the annoyed reply.  
  
“But I really didn’t mean to make fun of you. Honestly.” Izuku tried as he sat up, staring up at the back that had been turned to him.  
  
“Shut up.”  
  
“I swear Kacchan. I only laughed because I think it’s silly that you would put something like a birthmark under the ‘darkest secret’ category.”  
  
“I said shut up Deku.”  
  
“I love you.”  
  
“Shut up.”  
  
“I really love you.”  
  
“Deku I swear to god.”  
  
“I love aaaaaaall of you, even the parts that you don’t.”  
  
Silence.  
  
“Shit I think I broke him.” Izuku murmured under his breath after a while. The bed creaked a little as Katsuki turned over to look at Izuku and lifted the blanket as if to say that Izuku was allowed back on the bed now.  
  
“I still hate you.” He growled warningly, but sounded a lot less threatening than what he had intended. Izuku stifled a giggle as he climbed back on the bed without another word, heeding the warning Katsuki had given him – say one more damn thing and you’ll really be sleeping on the floor! Or something like that.  
  
“Kacchan?” Izuku tried after a while.  
  
“What?” came a tired growl.  
  
“Can I speak yet?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Oh.” Izuku paused, his hand finding Katsuki’s under the blanket.  
  
“It’s warm.” He murmured tiredly, a yawn escaping him and he scooted closer to Katsuki, making the other’s heart race like crazy.  
  
“Oi stay on your side of the bed!” Katsuki hissed half-heartedly and Izuku shook his head, messy curls tickling the side of Katsuki’s face.  
  
“Don’t wanna.”  
  
Katsuki bit his tongue. Annoyance drifted away into something he couldn’t quite describe. Izuku’s even breaths calmed his racing heart into something more steady and heavy eyes slowly shut as warmth spread through his chest at the thought of the person he loved more than anything in this world lying beside him.  
  
“I love you…Izuku.” He mumbled, lips barely moving as he faded into a deep sleep, barely aware of the boy beside him who shifted to lie in his embrace, a content smile pressed up against his collarbone and the words ‘I love you too’ spoken in a breathy whisper.


	13. It's happening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew guys. Long time no see. Thank you so much for your lovely messages. They really helped me keep going ^.^  
> I will finish this thing no matter what it takes, I promise you that.  
> So without further ado, here is the next chapter yay!
> 
> Enjoy~~~!

Chapter 13

Izuku awoke to warmth that surrounded him entirely. Lazily, he blinked into the dark, nuzzling the soft fabric against his face. He took a deep breath as he smiled, stretching his tangled limbs under a mountain of covers stacked on top of him. A muffled groan came from beside him and a heavy arm was draped over his hips. With a start Izuku was awake, face burning bright hot against Katsuki’s chest as he realised where he was. Unsure of what to do, he held his breath, listening to Katsuki’s breathing he slowly woke.  
  
Katsuki’s fingers twitched on Izuku’s lower back and he grumbled something incoherently, drawing Izuku closer to him. Izuku’s heart hammered in his chest, where had his courage from last night disappeared to?! He silent cursed himself and stayed perfectly still. After a moment of silence, he allowed himself to relax into the hold a little. After all, he was in bed with his lover, not his enemy. His lover. Boom and Izuku was just as red and flustered as a minute ago. He grinned a little giddily, welcoming the butterflies wreaking havoc in his stomach. A small little laugh bubbled up through his chest, sending pleasant tingles through him. He didn’t even try to stifle it. He felt so happy he could almost cry.  
  
He shifted his head so he could gaze up at the ash-blond lying beside him. He couldn’t help but marvel at him. Light stubble adorned Katsuki’s firm jawline, and long lashes still heavy with sleep graced soft cheeks. Izuku planted a soft kiss to Katsuki’s chin, earning another grumble from Katsuki and his fingers twitched again. Izuku stifled a snicker by biting down on his bottom lip and promptly repeated the action. Katsuki shook his head slightly, rubbing his chin against the pillow and burrowing his nose into Izuku’s soft curls. He stayed like that for a moment, breath tickling Izuku’s ear and he couldn’t help but giggle a little. This, Izuku didn’t even try to hide the big grin on his face, this was just too good. His heart swelled pleasantly, and he leaned into Katsuki’s touch, unintentionally rousing the other. Sleepy eyes blinked against messy hair, brain trying hard to compute his whereabouts.  
  
“Good morning Kacchan.” Came a quiet voice from right in front of him and he barely registered himself grumbling in reply. His hands roamed under Izuku’s shirt, still trying to understand what he was feeling and Izuku laughed against Katsuki’s chest before kissing his chin again. Katsuki’s hands halted,  
  
“Stop that you shitty nerd.” He muttered against Izuku’s forehead and let his eyes drift closed again, still half asleep.  
  
“Good morning to you too.” Izuku snickered and lifted is hand to gently brush against Katsuki’s cheek. Another grumble. Really though, this was just too cute. It took another five minutes before Katsuki was awake enough to realised where he was and what was happening and Izuku noticed by the way the hand on his back suddenly went stiff and Katsuki stopped breathing.  
  
“Shh, don’t freak out.” Izuku tried, doing his best to keep himself from laughing, because really, this was such a delayed reaction and continued to gently stroke his thumb over Katsuki’s reddening cheek. It eased Katsuki somewhat, enough for him to relax again, but he hadn’t quite started breathing yet.  
  
“Let’s start with a good morning.” Izuku said against his chest and after a moment of silence, Katsuki managed,  
“Good morning, Deku.”  
“See that wasn’t so hard.”  
“Shut up.”  
“Never.”  
“Get out of my bed.”  
  
Izuku gasped in mock offence and lifted himself up from the mattress, dramatic tears in his puppy-eyes,  
  
“Kacchan, so mean!” he complained and Katsuki glared at him weakly. Okay, so this was really happening. Izuku was in his bed, flirting with him, kissing him. The boy he’d been so one-sidedly in love with for months was in his bed. Katsuki’s brain short circuited and he pulled Izuku back down to him, unsure if to grin like a fucking idiot or bawl his eyes out. It was a mix of both, he realised ashamed as he hid his face in Izuku’s chest and Izuku merely wrapped his arms around Katsuki, waiting for him to calm down. It was so unlike Katsuki that it almost scared Izuku a little. To think he could reduce him to such raw emotions made him feel lightheaded.  
  
“This has got to be the weirdest fucking way I’ve ever been woken up.” Katsuki mumbled after a while and Izuku laughed, drawing soothing circles over his shoulders. The tender moment lasted only shortly before Katsuki was pushing himself up over Izuku, hands planted beside Izuku’s head and a grin on his features.  
  
“It’s also the best way. But tell me Izuku, did you really think you could get away with that?” he asked questioningly and Izuku felt his face heat up slowly as he stared at Katsuki hovering above him.  
  
“Do I have to answer that question?” Izuku asked right back after managing to get a grip on himself and in reply, Katsuki dove down and placed a rough kiss on Izuku’s lips, drawing a surprised yelp from his boyfriend. The kiss turned to something sweeter, more fitting for the morning and Izuku almost melted. If he’d known it would be so good, if he’d known being in love would feel like this, like never ending giddiness and happy tingles, he would have let himself fall earlier. His hands reached to cup Katsuki’s face and pull him in, deepening their good morning kiss. The guilt would probably not leave him for some time, but for now, for this perfect moment, he was going to ignore it.  
  
They broke apart and Katsuki let himself collapse on top of Izuku, drawing breathless laughter from his boyfriend.  
  
“Kacchan you’re crushing me.” Izuku complained and shoved to get the ash blond off him, but Katsuki didn’t budge.  
  
“More like I’m crushing on you.” Katsuki replied and after a short pause, “Again.”  
  
Izuku didn’t stifle his loud laughter and Katsuki finally rolled off him, worried that he might actually crush Izuku and hurt his shoulder again.  
  
“Hey Kacchan.” Izuku began after he finally calmed himself down, “I love you.”  
  
Katsuki hated himself for how deeply the words shook him and yet at the same time he embraced it, because it made his heart swell so fucking much it felt like bursting and he leaned in to place a soft kiss on Izuku’s lips,  
  
“Yeah well, what a coincidence, I love you too, nerd.”

 

\--------------------------------------

“You know, you never did tell me what the fuck you were playing when you ran me over.” Katsuki said bluntly with way too much bread in his mouth that it actually made it rather difficult to decipher.  
  
“You mean when you ran me over.” Izuku replied calmly, buttering his toast on the opposite side of the table. He didn’t have to look up to know Katsuki was glaring at him. He set down the knife and then glanced to the side, “Pokemon Go.” He admitted. Katsuki’s chair clattered as he shot to his feet and slammed his hands on the table yelling,  
  
“I fucking knew it.”  
  
“Shh. Not so loud Kacchan!” Izuku hissed and covered his face with his hand to stop himself from having to face that shit-eating grin on Katsuki’s face. Katsuki sat back down and continued eating as if nothing happened, but as soon as Izuku looked at him, he grinned and wiggled his eyebrows as if to say ‘take that you shitty nerd, you ran me over’. Izuku couldn’t really be mad at him, after all, he was right. To some extent.  
  
“Hey so, I was thinking about visiting my mom today. Did you wanna come along?” Izuku said after a while, slowly drinking his coffee. Katsuki didn’t even flinch when he replied,  
  
“Yeah sure, sounds good to me. When are we leaving?”  
  
Izuku set down his cup, somewhat startled by Katsuki’s fast answer and thought out loud,  
  
“Well I still need to shower and change, pack a few things…”  
  
“Then shower here and after we’ll head to your place, given you haven’t locked yourself out again, and get your stuff and then go see her?” Katsuki answered him, smirking a little as he dropped in that joke just to see Izuku pout, and pout he did, momentarily and then agreed. 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------

The held hands walking through the grand doors of the hospital. Odd looks bounced off them without a single notice through the white hallways. As Izuku went to knock on his mother’s room, her laugh echoed from the other side followed by a second feminine voice and Katsuki twitched.  
  
“What the fuck?” he whispered to himself and Izuku couldn’t believe it either. Katsuki ignored the courtesy to knock and barged into the room still holding Izuku’s hand and dragging his boyfriend along behind him.  
  
Mitsuki sat beside Inko on the little table in the middle of the room, both of them with tears in their eyes, baby photos of both Izuku and Katsuki strewn across the table, and some of two women in younger years, arms around each other and big smiles on their faces. They were just as shocked as the two boys standing in front of them until Mitsuki cleared her throat and snapped,  
  
“How many times do I have to tell you fucking knock when you enter a room, idiot son?”  
  
“That’s rich coming from you, you old hag!” Katsuki sneered right back and Inko laughed, calming the two of them down. Her eyes fell onto their entwined hands and a relieved smile settled onto her features as she met her son’s eyes.  
  
“Hey mom.” Izuku greeted and then waved at the woman beside her, “Hey Mitsuki.”  
  
“Izuku, its good to see you! I hope you slept well!” she greeted and her grin was almost devious. She knew exactly what was up, and one look at his mom told him she didn’t keep quiet about it either. His eyes fell onto the photos, one in particular caught his attention. He recognised one of the two figures adorned in graduation robes as his mother, and the other was…he looked up at the ash blonde yelling at her son and realised, it was Mitsuki. He was about to open his mouth to speak when Katsuki beat him to it,  
“What the hell are you doing here anyway?”  
  
“How rude of you, you little shit.” Mitsuki fired back, “Didn’t I leave you a note saying I was going to visit an old friend of mine?”  
  
“That doesn’t fucking explain anything!” Katsuki snapped and Izuku tugged on his sleeve as if to tell him to simmer down. He looked at Izuku briefly and bit his tongue. Mitsuki’s features also softened as she explained,  
  
“Inko and I have known each other since University. I studied physiotherapy while she went ahead as a health and fitness major. We roomed together for the duration of our courses.”  
  
“After graduating, we lost contact when I met Izuku’s father and moved around the country a lot. Who would have thought we would end up so close to each other again and not notice until our boys fall in love.” Inko mused and both Katsuki and Izuku blushed furiously at the mention.  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Izuku asked confused, wondering why his mother would keep this as secret and Inko shook her head,  
  
“I never intended not to tell you, I just never got the chance with you running out on me all the time.” She chuckled, “I’m so happy you found your way again.”  
  
Izuku blushed so hard even his ears turned red and just watching him made Katsuki all flustered too, much to the entertainment of their mothers.  
  
“So what brings you here?” Inko asked finally and Izuku wasn’t so sure if she was asking because she genuinely didn’t know or because she wanted to hear him say it.  
  
“Well,” Izuku began, his grip on Katsuki’s hand unconsciously and bit around on his bottom lip, “We, we’re dating. I think.” He looked at Katsuki and the ash blonde shrugged with a nonchalant,  
  
“Works for me.” Added. Their mothers stared at them in stunned silence for a moment before bursting into loud laughter for a solid minute. Izuku and Katsuki merely watched confused. Was it that funny to them?  
  
“Sorry, sorry.” Mitsuki giggled and had a hard time catching her breath. I was quite frightening really, especially for Katsuki, or so it seemed. But Izuku, Izuku just enjoyed watching his mother laugh. Truly, freely laugh. She was getting better.  
  
“Well, you have our blessing.” Inko said finally with a small wink and Mitsuki added,  
  
“So go on get married already.”  
  
Izuku could barely hear Katsuki yelling at his mom over the blood rushing to his rapidly reddening face. Really though, their mothers were far too entertained by this.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“I was honestly surprised when we met your mum.” Izuku said absentmindedly as they walked back home. Katsuki was strangely silent, just grumbling in agreeance, his hand still tightly holding Izuku’s.  
  
“To think they go way back like that. I had no idea.” Izuku continued, “It’s kinda cool, don’t you think?”  
  
“Sure.”  
  
“Kacchan what’s wrong?” Izuku asked confused as he finally noticed the knitted brows on Katsuki’s face.  
  
“It’s nothing.” Katsuki muttered and Izuku didn’t buy it for a second. He stopped abruptly, a tug at Katsuki’s hand brought him to a halt too. He looked at Katsuki with those big green eyes of his that had sent Katsuki falling for him in the first place. Overpowered, if you asked him. He sighed, the look Izuku was giving him far too compelling to be ignored.  
  
“I knew. My mom used to tell me lots about her university days when I was younger. Kept mentioning Inko this and Inko that. I was never listening really…” he trailed off, “Just like I never noticed you before. I mean we have lived on the same fucking street for god knows how long and I was too dumb to see the best thing that could ever happen to me slipping by just under my nose. Guess I was always too busy looking down on people.”  
  
“Kacchan…”  
  
“All these years I spent laughing at stupid fools and yet I was the greatest.” Katsuki continued, completely ignoring Izuku. Why was he telling him all this anyway? Shouldn’t he be happy that he could finally call Izuku his? Shouldn’t he be overjoyed?  
  
Izuku reached up and cupped Katsuki’s face in his hands, standing up on his toes so he could be at the same height as his boyfriend.  
  
“Katsuki.” He said sternly, “You really shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. I mean, look at me, I didn’t see you either until the moment you ran me over.”  
  
“You mean you ran me over.” Katsuki huffed annoyed but there was a small smile on his face. He leaned in and kissed Izuku quickly, catching the other by surprise.  
  
“Thanks nerd. I’m alright. It’s this weather, making me fucking depressed as shit.” He glared at the dark clouds hanging low, swallowing the tops of the skyscrapers. Izuku couldn’t help but giggle a little and laced his hand with Katsuki’s again.  
  
“Izuku? Izuku is that you?” a girl’s voice came from behind them and Izuku froze. There was a gasp and a soft squeal and then, “Ohmygod it is!”  
  
“Ochaco!” Izuku yelped as he was hugged from behind by the eccentric girl. Startled, he released Katsuki’s hand and was the consequentially twirled around in circles by Ochaco.  
  
“Did I see right? Were you two just holding hands? Is this happening? Ohmygod Izuku tell me its happening.” She chattered as she continued to spin him around.  
  
“It’s happening, its happening!” Izuku replied, arms flailing as he attempted to grab out for Katsuki to put a stop to this. His hand was grabbed and he was pulled from Ochaco’s grasp in an instant. He held onto Katsuki for dear life as his world continued to spin for a moment and when he was finally able to see straight he flashed Ochaco a big smile,  
  
“You saw right.”  
  
Ochaco squealed, high-pitched and loudly. It made Izuku shudder all over and Katsuki protectively wrapped his arms around him.  
  
“Fangirl.” The ash blonde whispered alarmed. Izuku swallowed hard,  
  
“And I think her ship just sailed.”  
  
They had never run so fast in their lives.


	14. Awkward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK!  
> I tell you what, this has been hands down one of the hardest chapters I have ever written in my life. I tried so hard not to let it get angsty and I actually had to scrap like 5 different versions of this so that's why it's taken so long. Anyway, I'm actually really happy with how it turned out!  
> Thank you guys so much for your continued support! See you next chapter!!

Chapter 14. 

The next weeks were, well, awkward, to put it simply. After Ochaco found out, Izuku spent the majority of his time making sure she didn’t accidentally tell Iida about Izuku and Katsuki – which proved to be far more difficult than expected. Katsuki was back at school, reluctantly, but back nonetheless and Izuku couldn’t quite figure out if he was happy about it. To put it bluntly, they barely saw each other anymore and when they did it was different. There was something like a mutual agreement not to let anyone know about their relationship – which had been fun for the first week, but now it was getting…awkward. 

Work was slow. Slower than usual despite the evening rush. Izuku glanced at the clock for the fifth time in two minutes and accidentally let an exasperated sigh slip. Momo, the new girl, looked at him concerned and he spent the next little while convincing her that he was okay, that he really just missed…he bit his tongue then and laughed it off, told her it was a friend. Why? He didn’t know. Was he scared people would talk? Was he scared he would get treated differently? Aizawa was shooting him those really scary looks and he busied himself at the counter.  
“If you miss them, why don’t you see them?” Momo offered with a smile as she fumbled around on the coffee machine. Izuku gave her a tired smile back and showed her how to frother worked.  
  
“Because I’m scared people will talk.” He admitted finally and it made him feel horribly guilty. Momo seemed to mull over his words for a moment before she tried,  
  
“Why? Are they a bad person?”  
  
“No.” Izuku laughed meekly, “They’re not…just, it’s complicated.” He avoided her eyes as he added, “I…I wouldn’t be able to stand if we were driven apart just because someone didn’t approve of us.”  
  
Momo was silent for a moment, big eyes focused on the coffee machine and Izuku was almost convinced she didn’t hear him until she said,  
“It’s not really my place to tell you this, but if you spend your life worrying about what other people think of you, you will miss the chance to live your life the way you want to. I don’t know much about relationships, but if you love this person as much as your face says you do, then I’m sure you two will be able to work this out.”  
  
She was right, and it made him feel relieved to have heard someone say out loud. Though the fact that she picked up on the fact that he and Katsuki were in a relationship made his face heat up to the point of explosion and he muttered his thanks under his breath, too embarrassed to even look at her. Momo laughed and gave him a small pat on the back,  
  
“You’ve got this.”  
  
“Y-yeah.” 

 

\-----------------------------------

At least that’s what he thought. He felt kind of like a creep, peeking around the corner at the skatepark, heart beating out of his chest like that time right before the regionals in a way that made his head spin and knees weak. He swallowed hard, clutching onto the small takeaway bag in his hand and took a deep breath. This was fine, this was like usual, nothing had changed.  
His legs moved a little robotically, reluctantly carrying him towards the ash-blonde whacking Denki over the head with his skateboard. His heart beat so fast he was almost convinced it was going to kill him and nausea built in his throat. Katsuki noticed him then and Izuku froze. What to do, what to say. His heart was stuck in his throat, his legs refused to budge.  
  
“Yo, Izuku!” Long time no see, how you been?” Eijiro called cheerfully and walked over to him, swinging his arm around Izuku’s shoulder and putting him into a gentle headlock.  
  
“Hey.” Izuku croaked as he struggled to free himself and again his eyes locked with Katsuki, who seemed just as thunderstruck as he was. Eijiro pulled him over towards the others, ruffling his hair in a way that made Katsuki fume and pull Izuku away. Contact. Katsuki immediately released him and whacked Eijiro for grinning like a fool.  
  
“Uh – uhm, I brought everyone some buns from the café.” Izuku tried, fumbling around on the takeaway bag nervously, damn near dropping them in the process. Katsuki couldn’t help but snort a little as he took the bun and Izuku gave him a wonky grin. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all. Courage returning a little, Izuku allowed himself a step closer towards Katsuki as he handed the buns to Eijiro and Denki as well.  
  
“Hey Izuku, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask ya, how in the world did you manage to get All Might – the All Might to sign Katsuki’s skateboard?” Denki asked all of a sudden as they sat at the edge of the bowl. Izuku paused, wiping some cinamon from the side of his mouth in a way that made Katsuki’s heart jump.  
  
“He’s a really old family friend. My father was good friends with him back in high school and parts of college. He’s been around for as long as I can remember really. Something like an uncle to me I guess?”  
  
Eijiro, Denki and Katsuki stared at him bewildered. The All Might was something like an uncle to Izuku.  
  
“Well since my dad left a few years ago, he’s been more like my other dad.” Izuku laughed, oblivious to the incredulous faces directed at him.  
  
“I-Is that so.” Denki stuttered, amazed at how nonchalantly Izuku was about the whole thing. Katsuki put his arm around Izuku and glared at Denki as if to tell him to back off for no reason whatsoever but he felt the need to do it anyway.  
  
“That’s quite the family you have.” Eijiro laughed and ruffled his hair again. Izuku wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be proud at this moment, but some part of him did feel proud.  
  
“Yeah!” he beamed and Katsuki had to hide his face in Izuku’s shoulder to keep him from swooning. He only barely noticed Eijiro reluctantly placing 500Yen into Denki’s hand, which the other took with a shit-eating grin on his face and Izuku and Katsuki were left to wonder what it was all about. 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------

They were strangely quiet for most of the walk home, Izuku’s hand buried deep in Katsuki’s pocket as they strolled along the sidewalk, a deep blush on both their faces.  
  
“This is silly.” Izuku said finally and Katsuki looked at him,  
  
“What? Want your hand back?”  
  
“No, that’s not what I meant.” Izuku laughed and shook his head, “I mean this wall between us, this awkwardness.”  
  
“Oh, yeah.” Katsuki agreed quietly.  
  
“Someone told me today that if we spend our lives scared of what other people will think of us, then we’ll miss the chance to live the way we want to. I don’t want to hide this, I’m not scared of what people will think. Well, maybe that was a lie, I am a little scared, but only because I don’t want to lose you, but I’m not ashamed of being with you. I really love you.”  
  
Katsuki stopped, pinching Izuku’s cheek with his free hand.  
  
“You think too fucking much Deku. No more thinking. If anyone gets in our way I’ll fucking punch them to the moon.” He growled.  
  
“Don’t be violent Kacchan.” Izuku complained and rubbed his sore cheek, but he felt relieved. Katsuki was right. He was thinking too much.  
  
They arrived home much earlier than usual and Katsuki stayed for a little while, pestering Izuku as he tried to make dinner for himself before he finally sent Katsuki home.  
  
“Oh my god leave already. I’m hungry I need to eat.” Izuku complained playfully as he stemmed his whole body against Katsuki to try and push him out of the front door. Katsuki budged a little and turned around quickly to catch the stumbling Izuku and took it as a chance to kiss his bewildered boyfriend.  
  
“That’s playing dirty.” Izuku protested and Katsuki kissed him again, playfully pulling on his bottom lip.  
  
“You don’t even know the fucking definition of playing dirty.” Katsuki teased and was rewarded, yes rewarded with a pout in return.  
  
“Do too. Now get going, your mum’s probably already worried about you.” Izuku shoved him gently and Katsuki rolled his eyes but allowed his boyfriend to push him towards the stairs.  
  
“Alright, alright, geez I got it, I got it, see ya later nerd.” Katsuki smirked and stole one last kiss, leaving triumphantly as Izuku blushed all shades of red. The grin on his face faded as he made it halfway down the stairs, almost crashing into the other person on the stairs.  
  
“The fuck.” He began, quickly swallowing his words as he made eye contact with Iida. A cold shiver ran down his spine. The one person they had both agreed not to tell yet and he’d probably just seen all of that. Katsuki dared to peek back over his shoulder and the horror on Izuku’s face confirmed his suspicions. But he was a man of his words, if anything, and he faced Iida with a mirror if his glare and said,  
  
“Yo foureyes, long time no see.” Then he turned back to the thunderstruck Izuku and winked, “I’ll pick ya up tomorrow nerd.” And with that he left, leaving Izuku to deal with Iida.  
  
“Uh-uhm would you like to come inside Iida?” Izuku tried, gesturing at the open door of his apartment. Iida nodded and silently passed Izuku, leaving the freckled teen to scuttle in after him. Izuku didn’t think anything could be more awkward than the last weeks between him and Katsuki, but apparently he had been wrong. Meekly, he kneeled in front of Iida on the floor as if to offer some sort of apology and Iida sat silently in front of him, regarding him with a blank expression.  
  
Izuku fumbled with his shirt nervously before he gathered the courage to look Iida in the eyes,  
  
“Look, I know what you must be thinking right now, and I know that you don’t approve of this at all, but…” Izuku swallowed down the lump in his throat, “there is nothing you can do about this.”  
  
Iida sighed deeply and massaged the bridge of his nose for a moment before he asked,  
  
“Do you love him?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“I see. How long have you been together?”  
  
“A few weeks.” Izuku was sweating buckets. Just what kind of interrogation was this. Iida corrected his glasses a few times before he finally said,  
  
“I don’t like this,” he watched as Izuku lowered his head dejected, “But if this is what you have chosen then I don’t want to get in your way either.”  
  
“Iidaaaa” Izuku cried and hugged his friend instinctively, earning him some rather reluctant pats on the back, but it was enough.  
  
“However, not everyone is always going to be so accepting of your relationship. What will you do when someone does get in your way? What will you do if this heavily affects your future?”  
  
Izuku was quiet for a moment and then he looked at Iida with something like conviction burning in his eyes,  
\  
“Then I will fight to stay with Katsuki, isn’t that obvious?”  
  
“And if you ever break up?”  
  
“Then it just wasn’t meant to be.”  
  
“I see you’ve thought this through.”  
  
“Multiple times.”  
  
Iida sighed again.  
  
“Here, you forgot this at school today.”  
  
“You came all the way here to give it to me?” Izuku asked bewildered as he took the old sketchbook from Iida.  
  
“Friends are supposed to support each other.” He said as he stood up, “I’ll be off now. Goodnight.” And with that he left, leaving Izuku with a weight of his chest and a stupid grin on his face. He didn’t know why he ever doubted Iida, he should have known it would turn out like this. Now there was nothing really stopping him from being the boyfriend he wanted to be. Watch out Katsuki, shit was about to get a whole lot cheesier.


	15. 14.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small .5 chapter to tie up some lose ends because you guys waited so long for chapter 14 and I had to get this out of my system

The way All Might found out wasn’t really planned, and if it was, it went wrong anyway. See, All Might accidentally walked in on the two of them on day while they were innocently messing around in bed. Innocently, but making out nonetheless. Katsuki had never felt so mortified in his life and he let the entire neighbourhood know with a string of loud curses that even sent Izuku running for the hills. Well, metaphorically, after all, it was sort of Katsuki’s fault for starting it, but he wasn’t quite brave enough to point that out. Safe to say it was a rather awkward dinner that night.  
  
“I want to fucking die.” Katsuki muttered as Izuku kissed him goodbye on the porch and Izuku chuckled softly,  
  
“That was rather embarrassing.” He admitted and gently stroked the frown off Katsuki’s face, “But please don’t say things like that.”  
  
Defeated. Katsuki quietly promised he wouldn’t. Izuku watched him walk home for a moment before he shuddered at the thought of going back inside. This was almost as bad as the Iida situation but at least All Might wasn’t glaring at him. Instead he was sitting at the table, hands crossed in front of his face, looking rather…uncomfortable. He gestured to the empty seat in front of him and Izuku reluctantly sat down.  
  
“Young Midoriya. In the absence of your parents, I have been asked to take care of you and look after you.” He began and Izuku braced himself for a lecture, arguments to fire right back already posed in his head. But then.  
  
“This means your safety is my top priority.” And with that he pulled out a banana and some condoms and spread them out on the table. Izuku almost lost it. Too embarrassed to laugh and too amused by All Might’s obvious discomfort.  
  
“Now, when two people really, really like each other…”  
  
“Yagiiiii!” Izuku whined and let himself drop back against the chair, using his arms to cover his flushed face.  
  
“This is important, make sure you listen.” All Might said sternly, but his voice cracked as he continued his Birds and the Bees talk on the dinner table of the Midoriya household.


End file.
